Kyiv residents rescued as Russian strikes damage buildings across the city
Russia’s overnight missile barrage killed at least 12 people in Kyiv on Thursday, 20 August, as residents were rescued from damaged buildings and firefighters battled fires across the capital.
Last updated: 15 hours ago
At least 33 people were wounded, according to Ukraine’s Emergency Service, while the air-raid alert remained in force into the early hours.
The strikes hit 12 locations in the Darnytskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts, damaging residential buildings, a medical facility and an educational institution. Fires broke out at warehouses, vehicles and other non-residential sites, adding to the pressure on emergency crews working across the city.
The top two floors of a nine-storey apartment block in Solomianskyi district were destroyed, with fires raging on several floors. Rescuers pulled nine injured people from the rubble, but two residents were killed. Nearby homes, a children’s hospital and vehicles were also damaged.
The overnight barrage came as Russia stepped up its use of ballistic missiles against Kyiv, placing further strain on Ukraine’s air-defence network. Kyiv has only a limited number of systems capable of intercepting ballistic threats, while supplies of interceptor missiles for US-made Patriot batteries remain constrained. Electricity was also cut to about 90,000 homes after the attack, although the power company DTEK said more than half had been reconnected.
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