Russia Strikes Across Kyiv, Igniting Fires and Damaging Buildings

According to Rokna, citing The Guardian, Russia launched a large-scale combined attack on Kyiv early Friday, causing fires and scattering debris across multiple districts of the city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported. At least 11 people were injured as emergency teams responded to several strikes, he said.

Five individuals were hospitalized, including a man in critical condition and a pregnant woman, following a series of powerful explosions that triggered the city’s air defense systems. Officials urged residents to stay in shelters while the air raid alert remained active and warned that power and water outages were possible.

Social media images showed flames engulfing various locations and residents gathering amid rubble-strewn streets outside apartment buildings.

“The Russians are targeting residential buildings. Numerous multi-storey apartment complexes have been damaged in almost every district,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, wrote on Telegram. He added that both drones and missiles were used and that emergency crews were deployed to several neighborhoods.

Klitschko noted that the city’s heating system was also damaged, resulting in service interruption in one district, and warned of potential disruptions to electricity and water supplies.

In the Darnytskyi district, debris fell into a residential yard and on the grounds of an educational facility, igniting a car after impact. In Dniprovskyi, debris damaged three apartment buildings, a private home, and sparked a fire in an open area. In Podilskyi, five residential buildings and one non-residential structure were affected. Additional fires were reported elsewhere due to falling debris.

Outside Kyiv, Russian strikes damaged critical infrastructure and private homes, injuring at least one civilian, according to Mykola Kalashnyk, head of the Kyiv region. A 55-year-old man in Bila Tserkva suffered thermal burns and was hospitalized, while fires broke out in suburban homes.

The attacks coincided with EU officials warning Ukraine to continue tackling corruption after a major scandal involving senior nuclear energy officials, while also assuring that international aid would continue as Kyiv struggles to resist Russia’s ongoing invasion.