Russian missile and drone strike across Ukraine kills three in Kyiv

Russia bombarded six regions of Ukraine in one of its largest aerial attacks of the threeyear war Ukrainian officials said on FridayThe nighttime assault lasted for hours and killed three emergency responders in the capital Kyiv according to authoritiesThe barrage included 407 drones and 44 ballistic and cruise missiles Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said Ukrainian forces said they shot down about 30 of the cruise missiles and up to 200 of the dronesUkrainian cities have come under regular bombardment since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022 The attacks have killed more than 12000 civilians according to the United NationsRussia doesnt change its stripes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saidZelenskyy as well as the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and the general prosecutors office said three emergency workers were killed in Kyiv while responding to the Russian strikesThey were working under fire to help people the Interior Ministry said in a statementThe war has continued unabated even as a USled diplomatic push for a settlement has brought two rounds of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine The negotiations delivered no significant breakthroughs however and the sides remain far apart on their terms for an end to the fightingUkraine has offered an unconditional 30day ceasefire and a meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to break the deadlock But the Kremlin has effectively rejected a truce and hasnt budged from its demandsThe Kremlin continues efforts to falsely portray Russia as willing to engage in goodfaith negotiations to end the war in Ukraine despite Russias repeated refusal to offer any concessions the Institute for the Study of War a Washingtonbased think tank said late ThursdayPutin said in a phone call with US President Donald Trump earlier this week that he would respond to Ukraines daring longrange attack on Russian air bases on SundayRussias Defence Ministry claimed it had aimed at Ukrainian military targets with longrange precision weapons and successfully struck arms depots drone factories and repair facilities among other targetsUkrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attacks demonstrated key differences between Russia and UkraineThe difference is that Ukraine hits legitimate military targets such as aircraft equipped to bomb our children Russia targets residential areas civilians and critical infrastructure Sybiha wrote on XThe latest Russian attack came hours after Trump said it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia fight for a while before pulling them apart and pursuing peace Trumps comments were a remarkable detour from his oftenstated appeals to stop the warRussia also reports drone attacksIn Russia air defences shot down 10 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital early Friday Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Flights at Moscow airports were temporarily suspended during the night as a precautionUkrainian drones also targeted three other regions of Russia authorities said damaging apartment buildings and industrial plants Three people were injured officials saidRussias Defence Ministry said that air defences downed 174 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions early Friday It added that three Ukrainian Neptune missiles were also shot down over the Black SeaUkraine struck airfields and other military targets in Russia such as fuel storage tanks and transport hubs the Ukrainian General Staff saidAlso a locomotive derailed early Friday in the Belgorod region after the track was blown up Belgorod Gov Vyacheslav Gladkov said Russia has recently accused Ukraine of sabotaging the rail networkUkrainian air defences are strainedIn Kyiv multiple explosions were heard for hours as falling drone debris sparked fires across several districts said Tymur Tkachenko head of the Kyiv City Administration He urged people to seek shelterFourteenyearold Kyiv resident Vitalina Vasylchenko sheltered in a parking garage with her sixyearold sister and their mother after an explosion blew one of their windows off its hingesI heard a buzzing sound then my dad ran to me and covered me with his hand then there was a very loud explosion she saidMy whole life flashed before my eyes I already thought that was it I started having a panic attack Im shocked that Im aliveUkraines human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets called for a strong international response to Russias latest overnight attack saying the assault violated basic human rights Russia is acting like a terrorist systematically targeting civilian infrastructure Lubinets wrote on Telegram The world must respond clearly and take concrete steps including condemning the aggressors actionsSeveral districts of Kyiv are hitAuthorities reported damage in several districts in Kyiv and rescue workers responded to damage and fires at multiple locationsIn the Solomyanskyi district a fire broke out on the 11th floor of a 16story residential building Emergency services evacuated three people from the apartmentThe attack caused a blackout in some areas and more than 2000 households on Kyivs eastern bank were without power the Kyiv City Administration saidElsewhere 10 people were injured by an aerial attack on the western city of Ternopil regional governor Viacheslav Nehoda saidThe strike damaged industrial and infrastructure facilities left parts of the city without electricity and disrupted water suppliesThree people were also injured in Ukraines central Poltava region Russia also targeted the western Lviv and Khmelnytskyi regions and the northern Chernihiv regionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever