Residents gather at the site of a Russian strike on Kyiv. Reuters
Residents gather at the site of a Russian strike on Kyiv. Reuters
Residents gather at the site of a Russian strike on Kyiv. Reuters
Residents gather at the site of a Russian strike on Kyiv. Reuters

Russian strikes kill 15 in 'one of the most horrific attacks' of Ukraine war


Tariq Tahir
  • English
  • Arabic

At least 15 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a major Russian attack on Ukraine.

Kyiv was hit by 440 drones and 32 missiles in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called “one of the most horrific attacks” on his country.

"It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it,” Mr Zelenskyy said, as the focus of the international community shifts to the conflict between Israel and Iran.

At least 27 locations in Kyiv were hit, including residential buildings, educational institutions and infrastructure, in one of the biggest attacks of the three-year war. Residents were forced to flee to underground shelters during the nine-hour Russian attack, which began just before midnight.

A ballistic missile struck a nine-storey residential building in the Solomianskyi district of the Ukrainian capital, flattening a whole section of it. Explosions could be heard across the city, along with the sound of machinegun fire by mobile air defence units aiming to shoot down drones.

Rescuers carry a body out of an apartment building in Kyiv after the major Russian attack. Reuters
Rescuers carry a body out of an apartment building in Kyiv after the major Russian attack. Reuters

Efforts by emergency workers to pull survivors from the debris were hampered by air raid sirens. Kyiv City Military Administration chief Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured.

The attack drew widespread condemnation among Ukraine's allies. France said it pointed to the "cruelty and cynicism" of Russian President Vladimir Putin and demonstrated Moscow was not fit to mediate in the conflict between Iran and Israel.

A Russian offer to mediate in the crisis was backed by US President Donald Trump on Sunday. "To the Kremlin, which would like to make peace in the Middle East: start with Ukraine," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.

The overnight Russian drone strikes also struck the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, killing one person and injuring 17, said Oleh Kiper, head of the regional administration. Mr Zelenskyy described the attacks as “pure terrorism”.

“The whole world, the United States and Europe must finally respond as a civilised society responds to terrorists," he said. "Putin does this solely because he can afford to continue the war."

Mr Zelenskyy was in Canada to attend the G7 summit, hoping to gather more support for tighter sanctions against Russia and continued military aid for Ukraine.

He also hoped to meet Mr Trump to discuss weapons purchases, but the US President left the summit a day early due to the tension in the Middle East, the White House said.

Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak criticised what he claimed was an inadequate global reaction to Russia's deadly strikes.

Part of an apartment block reduced to rubble by the Russian attack. EPA
Part of an apartment block reduced to rubble by the Russian attack. EPA

"This is how Russia fights – it kills civilians in ordinary homes, deliberately," he said. "This is how autocracies fight. A nuclear power can simply kill civilians in homes, refuse to cease fire, and not receive the necessary reaction from the civilised world. Why? And how many more of our people and children must die?"

Emergency workers have searched the rubble and doused fires with hoses. They used a crane and a stretcher to lower an injured elderly woman out of the window of one building hit in the attacks.

"I have never seen anything like this before. It is simply horrific,” said Viktoriia Vovchenko, 57, who lives nearby. “When they started pulling people out, everyone was cut up – elderly people and children. I do not know how long they can continue to torment us, ordinary people.”

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Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

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The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

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Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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U19 World Cup in South Africa

Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka

Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies

Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe

Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE

UAE fixtures

Saturday, January 18, v Canada

Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan

Saturday, January 25, v South Africa

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ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes. 

The trip

From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.

What is a calorie?

A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.

One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.

A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.

Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.

Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram. 

Updated: June 17, 2025, 1:12 PM