Two children among seven dead in Russian strikes on Ukraine, officials say
Two girls, aged 5 and 12, were among the six killed in a village near the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, while a seventh person was killed in Kyiv.
Seven individuals, including two children, have died in Ukraine following a Russian missile and drone assault, according to local authorities.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had issued a warning on Wednesday about Russia's preparations for a "massive attack," urging the public to heed air raid alerts. In the early hours of Thursday, the Ukrainian military confirmed numerous missile and drone strikes across the nation.
These attacks occurred after Zelensky's meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. this week, where he advocated for the US to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.
Among the six fatalities in a village near the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih were two girls, aged 5 and 12. They were killed when a ballistic missile struck a private residence, a local official reported. The official also stated that eight others, including two children, were injured, and cautioned that the casualty count might increase.
In Kyiv, one person died, and fires erupted in three non-residential buildings overnight, as reported by the capital's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, on Telegram.
Explosions were also heard in Lviv, where residential buildings sustained damage, according to Mayor Andriy Sadovyi. BBC Ukraine reported that several other cities were targeted, with missiles reaching western Ukraine.
In response, Poland mobilized its military aircraft as a "preventative measure," its armed forces announced on X. Ukraine had anticipated the Russian offensive, with Zelensky warning of a "high probability that the attack will occur tonight."
Meanwhile, in Russia, a regional official reported an overnight attack on a retailer's warehouse in the city of Penza. Regional Governor Oleg Melnichenko posted on Telegram that one person was injured at a Wildberries facility. Wildberries, often referred to as "Russia's Amazon," has been a target of recent Ukrainian attacks.
This military action follows repeated appeals by Ukraine's president to strengthen Kyiv's anti-ballistic missile defenses. On Wednesday, he wrote on X, "The protection of people's lives depends directly on their willingness, or lack of willingness, to provide air defence missiles." The Patriot is one of the few air defense systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, which Russia has increasingly used to bombard Ukrainian cities.