At least three people, including a child, were killed in overnight Russian ballistic missile strikes east of Kyiv on Saturday, according to Timur Tkachenko, the head of the regional military administration. Three others were wounded. Witnesses across the capital reported hearing powerful explosions in the early hours.
Tkachenko said falling debris damaged apartment buildings and cars, with fires breaking out at multiple locations. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitchko confirmed that emergency crews were battling fires at a building and a fuel tank within the city itself. Ukraine’s state emergency service shared photographs showing garages, a business premises and a residential building on fire. Also adding that casualty numbers were still being confirmed at the time.
The attack came just days after strikes across Ukraine killed 21 people in one of the deadliest recent episodes of the war. President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly warned that delays in receiving anti-ballistic systems from Western partners are costing lives. Earlier in the week, he said the supply of interceptors from allies had been “significantly reduced” this year. Also adding that a stronger interception capability “could have saved lives” in recent assaults.
Zelensky’s Visit to Serbia
Zelensky was not in Kyiv when the missiles struck. He had travelled to Belgrade for his first official visit to Serbia, where he met President Aleksandar Vucic to discuss economic ties, security cooperation and Ukraine’s relationship with the European Union. The visit is part of a broader effort to build international support for Ukraine. Vucic has not applied sanctions against Russia, though Serbia has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine and pledged support for its eventual reconstruction.
The strikes follow Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian oil refineries deep inside Russian territory earlier this week. Strikes which Zelensky framed as an effort to cut the revenues Moscow uses to fund its war effort.
Mediation efforts to end the conflict have stalled, and both sides are escalating. On Saturday morning, a child near Kyiv paid the price for that failure.
