When Friday morning began to dawn, several explosions were heard in Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian public service company Suspilne. Shortly thereafter, the city's military administration announced that downed rocket parts had crashed on several different locations in the city, causing fires and at least one death.
A number of people are also reported to have been injured, and at least four have received hospital care, writes Mayor Vitalij Klytjko on Telegram. He adds that 630 apartments, 16 healthcare facilities, 17 schools, and 13 preschools lack heating after attacks on heating plants.
Major Alert
A nationwide rocket alert was issued by the Ukrainian air force on Friday morning, after Russian fighter jets took off from airbases.
It was reported that a ballistic rocket had been fired towards Kyiv from the north, according to the air force. Several cruise missiles were also observed in the airspace. Residents of Kyiv were urged to seek shelter and stay there.
Kyiv was also subjected to drone attacks during the night. There are no reports of casualties, but buildings in the city are said to have suffered minor damage in connection with the drones being shot down.
From the Russian side, it is claimed that Friday's attacks on "targets within the defense industry and security service" in Kyiv are retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on a chemical plant in southern Russia last week. Western-made rockets were allegedly used, according to a statement from the Defense Ministry in Moscow, as reported by AFP.
Homes Hit
In parallel, at least six people have been injured in Russian artillery shelling in the city of Cherson in southern Ukraine. Several residential buildings have been hit in the attacks, described as "massive" by the local military leadership.
Late on Thursday evening, six people were injured in a Russian rocket attack on the city of Kryvyj Rih in central Ukraine, according to the local military leadership. Among them, a teenage girl who was rescued from the rubble of a two-story residential building.
