Kyiv [Ukraine], March 22 : Russia plundered Kyiv with a barrage of missiles on Thursday, injuring at least 13 people and damaging several residential buildings and industrial facilities, in what was the biggest assault on the Ukrainian capital in weeks, the New York Times reported, citing local officials. The Ukrainian Air Force said that air defence systems had intercepted all 31 of the Russian missiles that targeted Kyiv. But, still, the debris from the downed missiles fell in various parts of the city, causing injuries and damage. No deaths have been reported so far. "Such terror continues every day and night," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post that included a video of firefighters dousing burning buildings with water. The attack began in the early morning with loud blasts jolting residents awake around 5 am (local time) as air defence systems went into action.
Many people rushed to take shelter in subway stations. Several orange fireballs lit up the sky, apparently the result of missile interceptions. Air-raid alerts ended at 6:10 am (local time) just as the sun rose, revealing the damage. Kyiv Mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said that missile debris had caused fires in at least three residential buildings and in parking lots. He said on Telegram that emergency responders had been deployed to help victims. Four people were hospitalised, the city's military administration said. Photos of the aftermath of the attack released by Oleksiy Kuleba, the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, and the local authorities showed burned-out cars in front of a building with a facade blackened by fire, a large hole at the foot of a pink building with all of its windows shattered, and a destroyed house on charred ground. In the Podilskyi district, which is home to industrial facilities that Russia has targeted in the past, a plume of black smoke was rising early in the morning, suggesting a hit. Klitschko said a fire had broken out at a power substation in the area.
Thursday's assault came at a difficult time for Ukraine's military, with Russian forces pressing ahead with ground attacks at several locations along the front line of more than 600 miles, the New York Times reported. Faced with a shortfall of troops and ammunition, Ukraine has struggled to contain Russian assaults in its east and south. Ukrainian officials have vowed to launch a counteroffensive this year, but experts say the military has yet to receive the kinds of weapons that would let it regain the initiative on the battlefield, with American aid held up in Congress. Earlier on Wednesday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, made an unannounced trip to Kyiv in an effort to show the White House's continued commitment to Ukraine. He also urged the Republican lawmakers to pass the stalled package of billions of dollars in aid. "It has already taken too long," Sullivan told reporters in a briefing at Ukraine's presidential office. "And I know that you know that."
Thursday's attack on Kyiv was similar to Russia's strategy used during air assaults in late December, which consisted of overwhelming Ukraine's air defences with multiple launches of various types of missiles, including ballistic and hypersonic ones, according to the New York Times. Russia has launched relatively few large-scale missile attacks in recent months, despite a capacity to produce more than 115 long-range missiles per month, according to Ukrainian officials. Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy said that Ukraine urgently needed more air defence systems from Western allies. He pointed to recent missile attacks on the cities of Kharkiv, Odesa and Kherson that claimed many lives. "We need the support of our partners," Zelenskyy said. "We must prove that terror is always the loser."
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