Sept 24 (Reuters) – Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Thursday with ballistic missiles, killing two people and injuring six, as debris crashed down on several districts, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Klitschko, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said one of the dead had been in the parking lot of a maternity hospital. Three of the six injured were medical personnel and two of those hurt were in a serious condition. Part of the hospital facade was damaged, as was a nearby clinic.
Debris hit the ground in three districts of the capital and Klitschko said part of a residence had also been destroyed.
“In the Dniprovskyi district, debris fell into the yard of a private property,” Klitschko wrote. “People may be trapped under rubble”. He urged residents to remain in shelters.
Kyiv’s military administration said a 16-storey residential building was damaged, along with private homes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy decried the new Russian missile attack and said the strikes were recurring because of insufficient pressure on Moscow.
“Every such attack occurs because the pressure on the aggressor has not become total and Russia believes it can continue to rely on ballistic terror,” Zelenskiy, attending the UN General Assembly in New York, wrote on Telegram.
He said the attack took place as he was discussing the newly approved Lindsey Graham Russia sanctions law with members of the US Congress.
“Right now, the United States has the opportunity to respond strongly. We need ballistic interceptors to protect lives. We need to implement sanctions against Russia and those who help it earn money,” he added on the messaging app.
Reuters witnesses said several explosions had resounded after 1:00 a.m. local time. Unofficial Telegram channels showed what was described as a fire lighting up the horizon.
Russian forces had maintained attacks on the city through most of Wednesday, killing two people and injuring 45, according to Klitschko.
In the Black Sea port of Odesa, the head of the city’s military administration, Serhiy Lysak, said on Telegram that overnight Russian strikes had damaged residences and medical and educational institutions. He gave no further details.
(Reporting by Valentyn Ogirenko and Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Chris Reese and Michael Perry)
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