Kyiv, July 30 (SANA) Air raid sirens sounded across Kyiv early Thursday after Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, triggering fires, damaging homes and injuring at least five people, including a child, Ukrainian officials said.
The overnight strike came hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia appeared to be preparing a large-scale aerial assault and urged Ukrainians to seek shelter. He also renewed calls for Western allies to speed up deliveries of air defense systems, particularly Patriot missile batteries, which he said were essential for intercepting ballistic missiles.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said missile debris fell across several districts of the capital, igniting fires at non-residential facilities in the Obolonskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts. Emergency crews were deployed to the affected areas as authorities warned residents to remain in shelters until the air raid alert was lifted.
In the surrounding Kyiv region, five people, including a child, were injured in a separate Russian attack, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform reported that a two-story house in the village of Skypyn, in the Brovary district, was partially destroyed, while two neighboring homes were damaged. Rescue workers pulled three people from the rubble during emergency operations.
In a post on X late Wednesday, Zelensky said available intelligence suggested Russian forces were preparing a major overnight attack, urging the public to heed air raid warnings. He repeated his appeal to the United States and other Western partners to provide additional air defense systems to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to counter missile strikes.
The latest attacks come as Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange long-range missile and drone strikes targeting military positions and critical infrastructure, while diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled.
Earlier Thursday, the Ukrainian military said it had struck Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery. Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces had targeted Ukrainian ports and vessels in Mykolaiv, Odesa and Chornomorsk, destroying military equipment storage facilities and fuel depots.
R.A/N.J/ABD
