Russia attacked Ukrainian cities overnight with ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones, killing dozens and injuring scores. Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Kharkiv were among the hardest hit.
Russian forces attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles and drones early Thursday morning, April 16, resulting in deaths and dozens of injuries.
The State Emergency Service (DSNS) reported on Telegram:
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“Kyiv: 4 dead, including a child, 21 injured as a result of Russian shelling. Destruction recorded in Podil, Obolon, Shevchenkivskyi and Desnyanskyi districts.”
At 2:36 a.m., Kyiv Post correspondents in various areas of the city heard loud explosions as Russia launched the first wave of ballistic missiles.
In Obolon, fires broke out among parked cars, while a warehouse, tire shop, and store were damaged. Two people were killed and six injured, including four ambulance workers and two police officers.
In the Podil district, multiple strike sites caused widespread damage. Residential buildings were hit, with two dead pulled from the rubble, including a 12-year-old child. Three others were injured by glass.
Nearby hotels and residential buildings also sustained heavy damage. Elsewhere, a one-story house was destroyed, and two people, including a child, were rescued.
A strike also hit the sixth floor of a high-rise, prompting the evacuation of 10 residents, though no injuries were reported.
Fires were also recorded in Desnyanskyi district, while a playground and nearby buildings were hit in Shevchenkivskyi district without casualties.
Emergency services remain on site, and casualty figures are being updated.
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Russian troops have been carrying out missile and drone strikes on a number of regions of Ukraine for the second day in a row. In addition to Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Kharkiv were under fire.
In Dnipro, at least two people were killed and 30 injured, with 14 hospitalized and five in critical condition, according to regional authorities. Residential buildings, administrative facilities, and vehicles were damaged.
In Odesa, multiple waves of missile and drone strikes overnight killed six people and injured 11 others. Infrastructure, residential buildings, and public spaces were damaged, with more than 300 windows shattered in affected areas.
Kharkiv was also targeted by strike drones. In the Industrial district, vehicles caught fire near a residential building. In the Nemyshlyansky district, a 66-year-old man and a 77-year-old woman were injured. A subsequent morning strike set a private house ablaze, with additional casualties reported.
According to the Air Force, Russia launched a combined assault on April 15, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m, deploying 382 aerial targets, including cruise missiles and drones.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 369 of them. However, several missiles and drones struck multiple locations, while debris from intercepted targets fell across at least 12 sites.
Subsequently, the Air Force provided its daily report covering the period from 7 a.m. on April 15 to 7 a.m. the following day:
“During this period, the enemy carried out two waves of combined attacks on the territory of Ukraine using ground- and air-launched missiles, as well as strike drones,” the report reads.
In total, Air Force radio-technical troops detected and tracked 703 aerial targets:
According to preliminary data, as of 7:30 a.m., air defense systems had shot down or suppressed 667 Russian targets:
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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