War in Ukraine: Russian missile strikes kill several in Kyiv

Kyiv was the target of new Russian missile strikes on Thursday, causing the death of at least two people according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The attack is part of a series of strikes that continue to target the capital and other Ukrainian cities despite repeated diplomatic efforts to achieve a de-escalation of the conflict.

According to President Zelensky's details, the strikes affected several types of civilian infrastructure, including apartment buildings, a maternity hospital, energy facilities and logistical infrastructure. This diversity of targets illustrates the extent of the damage caused by the attack, which hit both residential places and sites essential to the daily functioning of the city.

The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly denounced Russian strikes targeting civilian and energy infrastructure, especially as the winter period approaches, when damage to the electricity and heating network has particularly serious consequences for the population. The explicit mention of a maternity hospital among the sites affected underlines the human dimension of this new wave of strikes.

The attack comes as the war in Ukraine, which began with the Russian invasion, continues without a negotiated solution being found, despite several rounds of talks discussed over the months. Strikes on densely populated areas such as Kyiv continue to fuel condemnation from the international community, while Ukrainian authorities regularly call for more support for air defence.

Rescue operations and a full assessment of the damage continued on Thursday, without a final toll of the number of victims and injuries being immediately communicated by the local authorities.