Ukraine’s Kyiv under ‘massive’ attack from missiles
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The Ukrainian capital Kyiv has come under a “massive” attack from Russian missiles with various buildings hit in the assault, officials say.
“A mass attack on the capital is still underway,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
Klitschko said there had been hits on both residential and non-residential buildings on both sides of the Dnipro River bisecting the city early on Thursday.
Fragments had fallen near two residential buildings in one district, but no fire had broken out and no casualties were reported.
Emergency medical teams had been dispatched.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the capital’s military administration, said at least one hit had been recorded in an eastern suburb.
Reuters witnesses heard explosions resound in the city.
The southeastern city of Dnipro also came under attack, regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha said on Telegram. Some private homes and cars sustained damage, but there were no indications of any casualties.
Air raid alerts remained in effect in both Kyiv and Dnipro well after midnight.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for any peace agreement ending the war to include a concrete date for the nation’s EU accession.
In a post on social media platform X, Zelenskiy said Ukraine “will do everything” to be “technically ready” to join the European Union by 2027 and the country would achieve at least the main steps towards membership.
“I want a specific date,” he wrote. Zelenskiy warned that if the agreement, to be signed by the United States, Russia, Ukraine and Europe, did not include a specific accession date, Russia would work to block the process – indirectly, through certain European representatives rather than acting alone.
He described EU membership as a security guarantee for Ukraine, emphasising the need for concrete details with a fixed timeline.
Zelenskiy had pushed for a 2027 EU accession at the end of January, despite scepticism among some European countries.
He said at the time that Ukraine’s EU membership would be one of the key security guarantees “not only for us, but also for all of Europe”.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia’s invasion for nearly four years with support from Western allies.
With dpa
Reuters
