Russian Ballistic Missiles Strike Kyiv, Damage Children’s Hospital and Homes

Russian forces launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Kyiv late Wednesday and into early Thursday, striking several districts of the Ukrainian capital, damaging a children’s hospital and residential buildings, and triggering fires, city officials said. Ukraine’s Air Force warned shortly before midnight that ballistic missiles were heading toward Kyiv from the north. It subsequently reported multiple additional missiles approaching the capital, including through the Sumy, Chernihiv and Poltava regions.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Explosions in the capital. Kyiv is under ballistic attack,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram, urging residents to remain in shelters. The first reported impacts were in the Sviatoshynskyi and Darnytskyi districts. Klitschko said a strike hit an area of non-residential development in Sviatoshynskyi, while non-residential buildings were burning in Darnytskyi. He warned at the time that more missiles were still heading toward the city. In the Solomianskyi district, debris fell near a five-story residential building, blowing out windows and starting a fire, according to the mayor. Emergency crews were dispatched to the site. Klitschko later said a children’s hospital in the same district had been damaged, with windows shattered and vehicles burning on the hospital grounds. “People are, according to preliminary information, blocked in a shelter” in Solomianskyi, Klitschko said, adding that emergency services were heading to the scene. Warehouses were also burning in Sviatoshynskyi. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine's Ex-Defense Chief Makes Risky Bet by Entering Electoral Politics Only 15% of Ukrainians believe elections should be held before the war ends, according to a recent survey. The Kyiv City Military Administration said a five-story residential building had been damaged in Solomianskyi and that information on possible casualties was being clarified. In Sviatoshynskyi, authorities reported the destruction of a non-residential building and said people could be trapped beneath the rubble. Medical teams were also dispatched following calls from the Solomianskyi and Darnytskyi districts. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian cities, residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure with missiles and drones. Deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects are prohibited under international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.