KYIV: Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, wounding dozens across the country and killing at least four people, including a 12-year-old girl, in the capital alone, Kyiv said on Sunday (Sep 28).
Neighbouring Poland scrambled jets to secure its airspace in the wake of the barrage, after NATO accused Moscow of being behind a series of violations of the defence alliance’s airspace.
Diplomatic efforts to stop the war have faltered, while Russia has vowed to press on with its offensive in the three-and-a-half-year-long conflict.
“Moscow wants to continue fighting and killing and deserves only the harshest pressure from the world,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following the strikes, which lasted for 12 hours.
“The Kremlin benefits from continuing this war and terror as long as there are profits from energy sales,” he added, urging stronger measures against Russia from Kyiv’s allies.
Russia said it had only hit military targets during the attack. Moscow has never admitted targeting civilians in the conflict.
Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, killing tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
The Ukrainian leader vowed his country would target Russia’s ability to fund the war and force Moscow to the negotiating table.
Besides the dead, more than 40 people were wounded across the Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Sumy, Cherkasy and Mykolaiv regions, Ukrainian authorities said.
Kyiv region resident Mark Sergeev and his family were sleeping when a missile hit their apartment in the middle of the night.
“I still can’t believe that the children are alive. It’s such a blessing from God. They were right under the roof when it hit them. The roof was torn off right above my eldest son’s bed,” the 35-year-old told AFP.
