An overnight Russian missile and drone attack on Kiev has killed at least nine people and wounded more than 70, while many buildings have been destroyed and people buried in the rubble, Ukraine's emergency services said today.
Six children are among the injured. "There is a disaster." "The search for people under the rubble is continuing," the service wrote on Telegram.
In the most serious incident so far, a residential building was destroyed in the Svyatoshinsky district, west of central Kiev.
Videos posted on Telegram show rescue teams with flashlights carefully moving through the rubble and setting up ladders on the building's facade. Police officers are searching the apartment buildings one by one to check for victims or survivors.
According to the emergency response service, rescue teams have been dispatched to 13 locations in Kiev accompanied by dogs and trained climbers.
"Cellphones can be heard ringing under the rubble." "Searches will continue until it is certain that everyone has been found," the agency stressed.
Meanwhile, fires have broken out in parking lots and government buildings, while metal fragments have damaged vehicles.
A missile attack warning was in effect for six hours in Kiev.
Additionally, in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, two consecutive Russian missile attacks occurred overnight, resulting in two people being injured and windows being broken, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Damage was also reported in Zhytomyr province, west of Kiev, where Russian forces launched an attack against a rescue team trying to put out the fire, injuring one member.
Ukrainian state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia announced that its infrastructure was targeted by attacks and two employees were injured.
In the Kiev and Kharkiv regions, damage was reported to train tracks and administrative buildings, but train traffic is operating normally.