Russian cruise missiles hit the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv over the weekend, ahead of the planned G7 meeting in Germany.
While Russian troops abandoned efforts to conquer Kyiv months ago, strikes have repeatedly hit the Ukrainian capital at intervals of several weeks. The last time Russian missiles hit Kyiv was early June, with a Sunday airstrike destroying tanks and other military supplies sent from NATO countries. Russian missiles hit railway facilities and other infrastructure in and around Kyiv, and one cruise missile flew dangerously close to the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant.
Footage of last weekend’s missile strike was shared on Telegram and other social media platforms, showing a large blast and huge plumes of smoke rising into the air from a residential part of the city.
“Video of hard arrivals in Kyiv this morning,” a Russian-language Telegram account wrote over the weekend.
“The location is already officially known – Shevchenko district,” the post reads, per Google Translate.
At Least Two Killed
At least two people were killed and 11 others injured in the Russian strikes on Kyiv and the central Ukrainian city of Cherkasy on Sunday. Among those injured was a seven-year-old girl who was reportedly pulled from the rubble by rescue workers.
The girl injured in the strike was caught on camera being taken to an ambulance on a stretcher by rescue workers.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, shared the picture on Twitter and called on attendees of this week’s G7 summit to respond with more sanctions against Russia for striking residential areas of Ukraine.
“This 7 y.o. Ukrainian kid was sleeping peacefully in Kyiv until a Russian cruise missile blasted her home. Many more around Ukraine are under strikes,” Kuleba wrote.
“G7 summit must respond with more sanctions on Russia and more heavy arms for Ukraine. Russia’s sick imperialism must be defeated.”
The bombardment with cruise missiles occurred as the Ukrainians were working to regroup after suffering heavy losses in Severodonetsk, a territory hard-fought-for by the Russians in Ukraine’s east. The city has since been completely taken by Russian forces.
Footage of a Russian cruise missile strike on Kyiv. https://t.co/VrUdMdlRDG pic.twitter.com/fVSS61OCEk
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) June 26, 2022
CNN reports that Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat described how “strategic bombers” were used to strike the Ukrainian capital city using between four and six missiles. He also revealed how the day before, Russia used Tu-22M3 long-range bombers that took off from Belarusian air space – the first time that a strike has been conducted with planes from Belarus since the beginning of the war.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko visited the Shevchenko district of Kyiv, one of the most historic parts of the city, to witness the destruction and meet the victims. He said that the strikes were an attempt by Russian forces to “intimidate” Ukraine ahead of the NATO summit expected to take place in Madrid between June 28 and 30.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
