Russian strikes on Ukraine’s capital and its suburbs killed at least three people, Kyiv’s mayor said Friday, as the air force issued a countrywide missile warning.
The attack on Kyiv ignited fires and damaged apartment buildings, with “three dead and 13 wounded,” according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
He also said a medic was killed while responding to a drone strike at a residential building that was hit a second time. It was unclear if the medic was included in the preliminary toll.
Regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk urged people to stay inside shelters until the air raid sirens lifted.
The country’s air force warned “all of Ukraine is under a missile threat” after confirming Russian bombers were airborne.
In the western city of Lviv, the armed forces said a ballistic missile struck “infrastructure facilities” just before midnight.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy said it was up to the Ukrainian military to determine if a nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile had been used.
After the attack, the regional military administration said that radiation levels were within normal range.
The latest barrage comes after the US Embassy in Kyiv warned on Thursday that a “potentially significant air attack” could occur any time within the next several days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had echoed the rare warning in his evening address.
Moscow on Thursday branded Kyiv and its allies an “axis of war” and dashed the latest post-war proposal drawn up at a summit in Paris.
The plan includes a US-led monitoring mechanism and a European multinational force to be deployed once the fighting stops.
But calling the proposed security guarantees “militaristic”, Moscow warned that any Western peacekeeping troops sent to Ukraine would come under Russian fire.
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© Agence France-Presse
