Russia conducted a significant drone and missile assault on Ukraine early Friday, resulting in six fatalities in Kyiv and two more in the southern region due to strikes on energy facilities, residential buildings, and infrastructure, as reported by Ukrainian authorities. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed that the Russian forces deployed 430 drones and 18 missiles, marking one of the largest attacks on the capital to date. Zelenskyy emphasized that Kyiv was retaliating with long-range strikes and urged allies to intensify sanctions against Russia. Although most of the drones and missiles were intercepted by the air force, debris and fires caused damage to high-rise apartments, a school, a medical facility, and administrative structures across nine districts in Kyiv, a city with a population of approximately three million.
Timur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, confirmed that at least 34 individuals, including two children, sustained injuries in various parts of the city, with nine individuals, including a pregnant woman, receiving medical treatment at hospitals. The energy ministry announced partial power cuts in the central Kyiv region, the southern Odesa region, and the eastern Donetsk region.
Residents witnessed flames engulfing different locations in the city, as people gathered in the streets littered with debris outside residential buildings post-attack. Anastasia, 29, recounted the chaos when her apartment building was hit, describing the overwhelming decision-making process amidst the screams for help.
The governor of the Kyiv region reported that drone and missile strikes caused injuries to six individuals, including a seven-year-old child, and sparked multiple fires. In Bila Tserkva, a 55-year-old man suffered burns and was hospitalized. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine started with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, leading to a prolonged state of war between the two nations.
Zelenskyy mentioned that the Azerbaijani Embassy was hit by debris from an Iskander missile, prompting Azerbaijan to protest by summoning the Russian ambassador. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry stated that the missile blast damaged part of the embassy’s perimeter wall and caused significant harm to the diplomatic compound without any casualties.
Furthermore, Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk temporarily halted oil exports, amounting to 2.2 million barrels per day or two percent of global supply, following a Ukrainian drone attack. The attack, which caused damage to a docked ship, residential buildings, and an oil depot, injured three crew members of the vessel. This assault, one of the most significant on Russian oil-exporting infrastructure in recent times, came after Ukraine escalated strikes on Russian oil refineries in August to undermine Moscow’s financial capacity for the war.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium briefly suspended oil loadings from the Yuzhnaya Ozereevka terminal in Kazakhstan due to the air alert, which resumed after the situation calmed down. Industry sources indicated that the Ukrainian attack targeted two oil berths at the Sheskharis terminal, with local officials confirming the extinguishing of a fire at the oil depot.
Despite Reuters not independently verifying the attacks and no immediate comments from Ukrainian officials, Russian crude oil shipments through Novorossiysk’s Sheskharis terminal were significantly impacted. The Sierra Leone-flagged Arlan oil tanker was reportedly struck during the attack, resulting in three injured crew members receiving treatment in the hospital. The governor of the Krasnodar region, where Novorossiysk is situated, stated that over 170 individuals and 50 pieces of equipment swiftly responded to extinguish fires and aid affected residents in the aftermath of the attack.
Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian troops successfully used long-range “Long Neptune” cruise missiles on undisclosed targets in Russia, emphasizing the growing effectiveness of such strikes. The missiles, previously tested in combat trials in March, have a range of 1,000 km. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that its air defence forces intercepted 216 Ukrainian drones overnight in various regions and Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014.
