By Canadian Press

Russia fires cruise missiles at Kyiv, other parts of Ukraine

Apr 27, 2023 | 10:53 PM

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired more than a dozen cruise missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine early Friday, killing at least two people in an eastern city and striking a residential building in central Ukraine, officials said.

Air raid sirens sounded around the capital in the first attack against the city in nearly two months and Ukraine’s air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles over Kyiv, according to the Kyiv City Administration.

There were no immediate reports of any successful strikes in Kyiv but fragments from intercepted missiles or drones damaged power lines and a road in one neighborhood. No casualties were reported.

But a young woman and her 3-year-old child were killed in the eastern city of Dnipro in another attack, according to the city’s Mayor Borys Filatov in a Facebook post. He said more details would be provided later.

Two cruise missiles also hit a residential building and storage facilities in Uman, around 215 kilometers (134 miles) south of Kyiv, said Ihor Taburets, the regional governor of Cherkasy, the region where the city is located. Five people were wounded in Uman, he added, and all were hospitalized.

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Cherkasy added that emergency service workers were at the site and didn’t provide any more details on the casualties. Local media shared footage and photos from the multi-story building that caught fire with several floors destroyed.

In Kyiv, the anti-aircraft system was activated, according to the Kyiv City Administration. Air raid sirens stopped just before dawn.

The attack was the first on the capital since March 9.

The missiles were fired from “strategic aviation,” according to the Kyiv City Administration, which didn’t provide further details.

The attacks came as NATO announced that its allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine during Russia’s invasion and war, strengthening Kyiv’s capabilities as it contemplates launching a counteroffensive.

Along with more than 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, Ukraine’s allies have sent “vast amounts of ammunition” and trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian brigades, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

More than 30,000 troops are estimated to make up the new brigades. Some NATO partner countries, such as Sweden and Australia, have also provided armored vehicles.

“This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.

The overnight attacks and comments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a “long and meaningful” phone call on Wednesday in their first known contact since Russia’s full-scale invasion more than a year ago.

Though Zelenskyy said he was encouraged by Wednesday’s call and Western officials welcomed Xi’s move, it didn’t appear to improve peace prospects.

Russia and Ukraine are far apart in their terms for peace, and Beijing — while looking to position itself as a global diplomatic power — has refused to criticize Moscow’s invasion. The Chinese government sees Russia as a diplomatic ally in opposing U.S. influence in global affairs, and Xi visited Moscow last month.

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Patrick Quinn in Bangkok contributed to this story.

Hanna Arhirova And David Rising, The Associated Press