KYIV—At least 53 people were injured and a children's hospital was damaged in Russia's second missile attack on Kyiv this week, according to Ukrainian officials on Wednesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy begged for additional assistance for his nation.
toward around 3 a.m., Ukraine's air defense systems shot down all ten ballistic missiles aimed toward the capital. Ukraine's Air Force claimed via the Telegram app at 0100 GMT.
According to officials, falling debris caused injuries and devastation in four Kyiv neighborhoods along the Dnipro River, which runs through the city. According to the city's military administration, 35 structures were destroyed.
The incident injured 53 people, including six children, according to Ukraine's national police. According to a social media post, eighteen individuals have been hospitalized.
The projectiles were recognized as Iskander-M ballistic missiles as well as S-400s: highly fast missiles designed for air defense but also employed to attack ground targets by Ukraine's Armed Forces General Staff.
Mr. Zelenskyy, who was in Norway on Wednesday, stated that strengthening air defenses was his top priority.
Andriy Yermak, his chief of staff, hailed Western-supplied air defense systems and their operators after Ukraine downed all ten. "The effectiveness of Western weapons in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers cannot be doubted," Yermak said in a statement.
The Air Force also claimed to have shot down all ten Russian-launched attack drones over the southern Ukrainian province of Odesa.
Debris damaged windows and doors of a children's hospital in Kyiv's Dniprovskyi neighborhood, but there were no injuries, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
“These (ballistic) missiles fly at a speed up to 8,000 km per hour,” Mr. Klitschko told Reuters while visiting a site near one of the damaged buildings.
Serhiy Popko, commander of the Kyiv military administration, said 17 people, including seven children, were evacuated from a building in the Dniprovskyi area after debris struck a structure and neighboring automobiles, igniting a fire.
The strike came after a barrage of ballistic missiles hit Kyiv on Monday, injuring four people.
Russia had no comment on Wednesday's incident, which also caused damage to buildings in Kyiv's Desnyanskyi, Darnitskyi, and Holosiivskyi districts.
