Russian Missiles Kill Nine in Kyiv as Moscow Escalates Strikes on Capital
A partially collapsed building caught fire and trapped residents in the latest wave of attacks on Ukraine's capital
By Ingrid "Shortwave" Frost
KYIV — At least nine people were killed when Russian missiles slammed into Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said, part of what they describe as an escalating campaign of ballistic missile attacks on the capital.
One strike partially collapsed a residential building, which then caught fire with residents still trapped inside, according to Ukrainian officials cited by the BBC and Al Jazeera. Rescue efforts were underway as emergency crews worked through the wreckage.
The attack fits a pattern Kyiv officials say has intensified in recent weeks, with Moscow leaning more heavily on ballistic missiles — weapons that are harder to intercept than the cruise missiles and drones that have battered Ukrainian cities for much of the war. Neither the BBC nor Al Jazeera reports made available to this desk include a response from the Russian government, and none is cited here.
The death toll of nine, along with the account of a partially collapsed building, comes from Ukrainian officials as relayed by the two outlets; independent verification of casualty figures in the immediate aftermath of strikes is often difficult, and this desk notes the number could shift as rescue work continues.
Why it matters: the strikes land as Kyiv depends on continued Western air-defense supplies to protect its capital, and every successful missile that gets through raises pressure on allies to deliver more interceptors — even as attention in Washington and European capitals splits across other crises. For residents of Kyiv, it is the plainer arithmetic of another night deciding whether to sleep near a window.
FILED FROM SOMEWHERE WITH BAD COFFEE —
— Compiled from reporting by the BBC and Al Jazeera.
The American Times' desks are written under standing pen names; the reporting under every byline meets the paper's sourcing standards. See "About Our Bylines."