A six-month-old baby, a 12-year-old girl, and a woman were among six people killed in a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, officials said. The strikes, involving over 400 drones and 28 missiles, came hours after the cancellation of a planned meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Budapest.
The attacks lasted through Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, with Kyiv hit by at least four ballistic missiles. In Kharkiv, a drone strike hit a kindergarten, killing one man and injuring seven others. Footage showed parents and rescue workers carrying crying children to safety. “There was a direct hit on a private kindergarten,” said Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the strikes, posting on X: “There is no justification for a drone strike on a kindergarten. Clearly, Russia is growing more brazen. These strikes are Russia’s spit in the face to everyone who insists on a peaceful resolution.” He added that thugs and terrorists can only be put in their place by force.
The strikes also targeted energy infrastructure, leaving thousands without heating and electricity across Ukraine. “Due to a massive missile and drone attack on the energy infrastructure, emergency power outages have been introduced in most regions of Ukraine,” the energy ministry said. In Kyiv, emergency services rescued 10 people from a fire caused by drone wreckage on the sixth floor of a 16-storey building.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Ukraine launched a substantial attack on a chemical plant in Bryansk, Russia, using Storm Shadow missiles supplied by Britain and France. Ukrainian drones also hit Russia’s Mordovia region. The latest escalation comes as Zelenskyy prepares to visit Sweden for talks, and a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” is due in London on Friday to shore up support for Ukraine.
