Three people have been killed in a Russian airstrike on Kyiv overnight, as reported by Ukrainian officials. A ballistic missile hit just before the alarm sounded at 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT), following a previous air raid alert.
Upon visiting the scene in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, a large crater was visible in the road outside a business center, which itself was severely damaged by either a second missile or a large fragment. It remains uncertain what the specific target was, but the surrounding buildings suffered debris and shattered glass.
Initially, officials had mentioned that four individuals had lost their lives in the attack. Beside the main crater, a Ukrainian forensics expert was seen examining missile fragments gathered in a pile of twisted grey metal on the pavement.
Andriy Kulchytskyy, the head of the Military Research Laboratory of the Kyiv Institute of Scientific Expertise, noted that the crater resulted from a direct hit by an Iskander-M ballistic missile. He explained, "There are additional strikes, and we have collected debris. Here, the missile directly hit the road."
The missile landed before the sirens went off because ballistic missiles travel so swiftly that the alarms cannot respond in time, Mr. Kulchytskyy pointed out.
The business center was unoccupied at the time of the attack, having remained vacant since its construction in 2022. The adjacent areas, including the local McDonald's, suffered similar damages.
A nearby dental clinic bore the brunt of the explosion, with staff sifting through debris and shattered glass in their efforts to salvage what they could. Meanwhile, a woman was seen removing decorations from a plastic Christmas tree that remarkably remained standing, remarking, "It's happened before, but never as badly as this."
A young man exiting a neighboring block of flats recounted the morning's blasts, mentioning, "There were three explosions in a row, then a big fire glow in the sky - and the building shook. It was very loud."
Emergency teams and law enforcement were highly present on Saturday morning, with the main road blocked off. Videos circulated online displayed a burning car and water flowing down a flooded street in the immediate aftermath.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that air defenses were active around the capital. These recent strikes mark the second deadly attack on Kyiv this month, following an incident on New Year's Day that claimed two lives.
In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, local authorities reported six individuals injured in a Russian strike on Saturday, with one woman in critical condition.
These attacks are part of the ongoing conflict that unfolded after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The timing of these strikes just before the impending inauguration of Donald Trump in the US has raised concerns among many Ukrainians, given Trump's promise to reduce American military and financial aid to the nation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently emphasized the country's reliance on US support as Russian airstrikes persist and hostilities on the front lines endure.