Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, held an official day of mourning on Friday following a devastating Russian drone and missile attack the previous day. The attack claimed the lives of 31 people, including five children, and injured over 150, according to Ukrainian officials.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the youngest victim of Thursday’s attack was only two years old, and 16 of those injured were children.
Official casualty figures reported by The Associated Press indicate that this was the highest number of children killed and injured in a single attack on Kyiv since aerial attacks began in October 2022.
The death toll climbed overnight as emergency responders continued to search through the debris. The Russian barrage heavily damaged a nine-story residential building and affected over 100 other buildings, including homes, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities, and universities, officials reported.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent months, disregarding appeals from Western leaders, including the US president, to cease targeting civilian areas after more than three years of war.
Russian forces are also maintaining their intense war along the expansive 620-mile front line, where minimal territorial gains over the past year have resulted in significant casualties on both sides.
Zelenskyy reported that in July, Russia launched over 5,100 glide bombs, more than 3,800 Shahed drones, and nearly 260 missiles of various types, including 128 ballistic missiles, against Ukraine.
He reiterated his call for stronger economic sanctions against Russia to deter the Kremlin, especially given that US-led peace initiatives have not been successful.
“No matter how much the Kremlin denies (sanctions’) effectiveness, they are working and must be stronger,” Zelenskyy asserted.
His remarks on Friday appeared to be a response to President Trump’s comments the previous day, in which Trump stated that the US plans to impose sanctions on Russia but added, “I don’t know that sanctions bother him,” referring to President Putin.
Ukraine also requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting on Friday, according to Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, to press Putin to accept “a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces face mounting pressure in the strategic city of Chasiv Yar, located in the eastern Donetsk region. Russia is making a strong effort to break through defenses there following about 18 months of ongoing conflict.
Zelenskyy dismissed Russian claims of capturing Chasiv Yar on Thursday as “disinformation.”
“Ukrainian units are holding our positions,” Zelenskyy affirmed in his nightly video address on Thursday. “It is not easy, but it is the defence of Ukrainians’ very right to life.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported on Friday that its air defenses had intercepted 60 Ukrainian drones overnight.
It stated that over half of these were destroyed over Russia’s Belgorod region, located on the country’s border with Ukraine.
