Nine injured as Russian missiles target Kyiv again
RUSSIA again targeted Kyiv with missiles yesterday – the third time in just five days.
The attack, which left at least nine people injured, including a 16-year-old girl, came amid an apparent escalation of aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
Explosions rang out across the capital in the morning, badly damaging a three-storey building in the centre of the city.
Bridget A Brink, the US ambassador to Ukraine, posted on X: “Again this morning Russia is attacking Ukraine with hypersonic missiles. Loud explosions in Kyiv.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his appeal for the West to provide his country with more air defence systems.
He said: “We never tire of repeating that Ukraine needs more air defence.
“This is security for our cities and saves human lives.”
The latest missile attack came as Ukraine intensified its own bombardment of Russian targets.
A reconnaissance ship was yesterday “hit by two missiles at once” in the annexed naval port of Sevastopol, authorities claimed.
Ukrainian drones also struck a Russian power station overnight.
But the attack on the Ivan Khurs warship is likely to infuriate Vladimir Putin. It was in addition to earlier strikes on large landing ships Yamal and Azov – each worth £170million.
In total, Ukraine fired 18 missiles – believed to be Anglo-French Storm Shadow and SCALP – at the Crimean port in the biggest onslaught of the war on the city.
Some 11 were shot down by Russian air defences, but seven hit targets that reportedly included the fleet’s main communications centre.
The scale of damage to the £80million Ivan Khurs – which has a normal crew of 131 – is not clear.
But the Yamal suffered “critical” damage, the GUR, Ukrainian military intelligence, has said.
It claimed: “The occupiers are continuously pumping water from the damaged ship, which took part in the annexation of Crimea and was under repair from 2017 to 2023.”
Other damage to the vessels was “being clarified”.
The Ivan Khurs is a Yuriy Ivanov class (Project 18280) signals intelligence vessel came into service in 2017.
Ukraine has targeted the ship for some time and twice came close to sinking it with sea drone attacks last year.
Elsewhere, a huge fire broke out at a vital Russian power plant yesterday after drone strikes by Ukraine.
Two power units of the Novocherkassk State District
Revenge
Power Plant were decommissioned by explosions at the facility.
Two drones are believed to have hit the plant at around 2.30am.
It is the largest non-nuclear plant in Rostov region.
Ukraine has been intensifying its strikes on oil refineries in recent weeks, with multiple successful hits.
The strike on Novocherkassk may be in revenge for major electricity disruption by Russian strikes on Ukrainian second city Kharkiv’s power plants last week.
Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, has lost half of its generating capacity as a result of the Russian mass attack on the country’s energy system on March 22.
It will take “months” to restore the network.