At least eight people were killed in Ukraine overnight as Russia said it launched airstrikes on targets across the country.
One person was killed in an airstrike on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, while other deaths occurred as far west as Lviv.
An explosion was reported in Kiev early Thursday after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia could launch a “massive attack.”
Zelensky later wrote that Russia had fired 70 rockets and 280 drones in the attack.
Both Reuters and AFP quoted people on the ground as saying they heard explosions.
“Sadly, one death has been confirmed,” the military administration of Kiev city wrote on Telegram early Thursday.
The city’s mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said Russia attacked Kiev with ballistic missiles and urged people to take shelter. He said several non-residential sites in Kiev caught fire.
“The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic weapons. There remains a threat of further attack. Stay in shelters!” Klitschko said.
Many people died in Kryvyi Rih
Russia also attacked other cities of Ukraine overnight. At least six people, including two girls, were killed in a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, according to the head of the local military administration.
“In a village on the outskirts of Kryvyi Rih, a direct hit by an Iskander-M ballistic missile launched from Voronezh hit a private house where a large family lived, killing girls between five and 12 years old and four adults,” said Oleksandr Vilkul.
He said eight more people were injured and the death toll could rise.
Russian missiles also damaged two apartment buildings in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv near the Polish border and injured six people, according to local officials.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces announced on Thursday that Poland had deployed its fighter jets on Thursday to protect its airspace amid Russian air attacks on Ukraine.
“Fight aircraft and an early warning aircraft have commenced operations, while ground-based air defense systems and radar reconnaissance systems have reached a state of readiness,” the post said, adding that the action is preventive in nature.
What did Zelensky say before the Kyiv explosions?
The attacks came after Zelensky warned that “there is a high probability that the attack will be carried out tonight.”
“I received a report from Air Force Commander Anatoly Krivonozko. The Russians prepared a major attack several days ago,” Zelensky said on the X.
The Ukrainian President stressed that the security of Ukrainians depends on the willingness of Kiev’s allies to provide anti-missile protection. His statement came after a visit to the US, where he said President Donald Trump had agreed to grant Ukraine a license related to Patriot missile production.
Zelensky said on Thursday: “It is important that our partners fully understand what is happening, and that the safety of life directly depends on their readiness, or lack thereof, to help us with air defense missiles.”
Ukraine renews attacks on Russian logistics centers
For its part, Ukraine continued its attacks on logistics centers inside Russia on Thursday.
In Penza, a warehouse of online retailer Wildberries, often described as the Amazon of Russia, caught fire after being attacked by a Ukrainian drone, injuring one person and forcing the evacuation of 200 others.
Ukraine says Wildberries is providing logistical support to Russia’s military.
Its attacks inside Russia also target the country’s already weak domestic economy and send a message to ordinary Russians that the war is not just something that affects Ukrainians.
These attacks are being carried out in the hope of putting pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the aggressive war that has been going on for more than four years.
Edited by: Rana Taha and Louis Olofse
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