Ukraine: Russian ballistic missiles strike Kyiv, killing two. Poland closes two airports
The Russian attacks on Kyiv have resulted in the deaths of a woman and a child, as well as leaving four other people injured
Overnight, the Russian armed forces launched a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. Numerous explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital. There were power cuts in some parts of the city. The Ukrainian Air Force issued a warning about incoming ballistic missiles targeting the city, and air defence systems were deployed. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, stated on Telegram that emergency services are responding to a fire in a residential area of the Sviatoshynskyi district. The extent of the damage is not yet clear.
The Russian missile and drone attack resulted in the death of a child, injuries to three people and damage to several homes, as well as damage to infrastructure. This was reported by the head of the Kyiv regional administration, Timur Tkachenko. ‘In Vyshgorod, rescue workers pulled three people to safety from the rubble of a destroyed private home. Among them was a child who suffered an acute stress reaction. A man sustained shrapnel wounds to the head, whilst a woman suffered injuries to her legs,” said Tkachenko, adding that “unfortunately, the body of another child was found under the rubble”.
Two airports closed in Poland
In Poland, Lublin and Rzeszów airports have been temporarily closed to allow the air force to operate freely. This was announced by the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, which linked the news to a statement from the Armed Forces Operational Command, which stated on X that ‘following the attacks launched by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian territory, carried out using airborne assault assets, the air force is operating in Polish airspace’. ‘Ground-based air defence systems and radar surveillance have been placed on high alert”, the Polish armed forces stated, adding that “these measures are preventive in nature and aim to ensure the security and protection of airspace, particularly in areas adjacent to those under threat”.
Last night, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that a rare meeting between the German and Russian foreign ministers, which took place on Saturday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, had shown that Russia “is not at all interested in serious negotiations” on Ukraine, more than four and a half years after Moscow launched its offensive on Ukrainian territory.
