Kyiv
CNN
–
Russia has fired drones and ballistic missiles at multiple targets across Ukraine, Keeff authorities said Friday in a deadly air attack that killed at least four people and injured 20 people.
Ukraine is hit by an evening barrage of Russian drones and missiles. However, the country has become brave due to the massive retaliatory strike promised by President Vladimir Putin, following a bold attack on an airfield deep in Russia. It was unclear whether the attack on Friday was that strike or if there would be more barrages to be expected in the coming days.
A fire was reported caused by debris and drone strikes in Kiev buildings as Ukraine tried to repel Russian attacks. CNN producers in the Kyiv area reported that they had heard at least two explosions.
Tkachenko accused Russia of attacking residential areas with drone attacks, and said skyscrapers had been damaged in Kiev’s Solomyansky district. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko also reported fires in the districts of Holosiivskyi and Darnytskyi, the capital of Ukraine.
Ukrainian air defense units have been revitalized in Kiev’s Oboron region, Klitschko told the telegram early in the morning of local time. “The attack on the capital will continue. We will stay in the shelter!” he said.
Photos issued by Reuters show Kiev residents, some accompanied by children sitting in a pram and taking shelter in underground parking lots. Search and rescue operations are currently underway as of Friday morning.
A Russian strike wounded five people in Rootsk, the northwest city of Rootsk, about 60 miles from the Polish border, Mayor Ihol Polishchuk wrote to Telegram early on Friday.
Separately, a Ukrainian drone attack hit an industrial site in Engels, southern Russia, the governor of the region said on Friday.
Footage CNN geolocated at Engels’ site (approximately 460 kilometers (285 miles) from the border with Ukraine) shows the flames burning, with smoke blowing in.
In January, a Ukrainian drone attack struck a Combinut Crystal Oil Depot, serving military airfields in the city.
Russia’s latest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine come just days after Ukrainian security services launched a series of bold drone attacks deep within Russia.
On Tuesday, Ukraine launched an attack on the Karch Bridge, the only direct connection point between Russia and the annexed Crimea Peninsula.
The attack surprised Moscow and sparked a pour in calls for massive retaliation from nationalists within Russia and the Prokremlin firefighters.
The Russian heavy bomber fleet has been contributing to the daily fires of Ukrainian cities since the full-scale invasion of Moscow, allowing them to fire violently to intercept cruise missiles at safe distances from Kiev’s anti-aircraft batteries.
Putin told US counterpart Donald Trump that Russia will respond to those attacks on Wednesday with the latest calls from the two leaders.
Trump’s explanation of the call did not appeal to the Russian president to soften his response or to put pressure on him to end the invasion of Ukraine. That stance sparked widespread anger and disappointment in Ukraine.
“When Putin says he’s going to revenge or a new strike against Ukraine, we know what it means. It’s about civilians,” Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Melecko told CNN Earliuer this week. “And President Trump didn’t say, ‘Vladimir, stop.’ ”
And on Thursday, Trump compared the war to a brawl between children, saying in his oval office:
Analysts, as well as Ukrainian air defense forces, are closely watching whether Russia could deploy some of its latest weapons in retaliation with Kiev for the latest attack.
For example, Russia launched a new, non-nuclear, medium-spread expansion ballistic missile in the Ukrainian Ukrainian city of Dnipro last November, and in the attack, President Putin said it was a response to the Ukrainian military’s use of long-range weapons.
That particular missile contains multiple warheads, and its use in anger was seen by analysts at the time beyond the Rubicon moment.
Over the past year, Russia has expanded its drone and missile production, allowing mass attacks using hundreds of projectiles at once. Russia’s strategy is trying to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defense with many low-cost drones, so that missile strikes will be successful at the same time.
Ukraine relies on US technology to protect itself from the nightly barrage of drones and missiles.
However, the Trump administration has shown that it expects its European allies to do much heavier when it comes to protecting Ukraine.
Last week, the Pentagon notified Congress that it would divert critical anti-drone technology assigned to Ukraine for Ukraine, according to a news report obtained by CNN and those familiar with the matter.
This is a developing story and will be updated.