A barrage of Russian strikes on Ukraine early Friday left a trail of destruction visible across several cities in the country, where many buildings and properties were destroyed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday’s strikes killed at least four people and injured dozens. The attacks targeted the capital, Kyiv, the Ternopil region in the northwest of the country, and the city of Lutsk.
One person was killed in Lutsk, and several were injured following a Russian missile and drone strike on the northwestern city in the Volyn region.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, 15 attack drones and six cruise missiles were directed at the city in the early hours of Friday, triggering explosions and structural collapses in several neighbourhoods.
Many residents reported three powerful blasts, likely due to direct hits or the work of air defence systems.
“It started around 4:30 a.m. I saw with my own eyes how things were flying there and exploding. I was standing right here, and the blast wave pushed us into the hallway. Most people ran to the shelter.” Yevheniia Kamienieva, a resident of Lutsk, said.
“According to eyewitnesses who were outside, since unfortunately we don’t have functional shelters here, it was a missile strike,” Alisa Yerofieieva, head of the condominium association in the city, said.
Rescuers in the city said at least 16 people sustained various injuries from the attacks, which sparked numerous fires.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) reported that the latest Russian strikes had targeted regions across Ukraine, including Kyiv, where three of those killed were rescuers.
With the explosions lasting for several hours overnight, many people in the Ukrainian capital took shelter in metro stations. The SES said several administrative buildings, industrial facilities, and vehicles were also damaged.
Strikes were also reported in the city of Sloviansk, according to Donetsk region police. The police said Russian drones hit Sloviansk, damaging buildings, over a dozen vehicles and a service station. Fortunately, no casualties were reported, the police said.
The strikes, according to Russia’s defense ministry, were in retaliation for “terrorist acts by the Kyiv regime.” Russia claimed it targeted only military installations, something Kyiv disputes with evidence of mounting civilian casualties on Ukraine’s side.
Moscow’s attacks came just days after US President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had said “he will have to respond” following Ukraine’s Operation Spider’s Web, which targeted Russian warplanes at military airbases last weekend.
The covert operation was described as one for the “history books” by Ukraine’s president, who blamed Russia’s refusal of a proposed ceasefire in May for the latest escalation in the three-and-a-half-year-old war.