By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine HRMMU on Thursday reported that 11 civilians were died and over 130 injured in Russian strikes overnight in Kyiv.
The mission stated that among the confirmed dead is a 6 year-old boy. And 10 of the injured were children.
Media reports indicated that figure is rising.
Russia launched 309 drones and 8 cruise missiles during the night and despite air defences manage to destroy many of them, the damage across the capital was severe.
UN said that 27 locations across Kyiv were hit by the attack, with the heaviest damage seen in the Solomianskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts, where UN rescue efforts are ongoing.
It reported that in the Sviatoshynskyi district, a missile destroyed a section of a nine-story apartment building.
In the Solomianskyi district, a five-story apartment building was severely damaged, and 2 people were killed.
Ukraine reported that witnesses described shock at the strike, which happened so quickly that they did not have time to seek shelter.
Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU said “Homes, businesses and public buildings are being destroyed, and it may take years to rebuild them. And each new attack compounds the psychological toll on people who have to spend night after night in shelters”.
According to news reports over 100 buildings were reportedly damaged in Kyiv including homes, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities and universities.
The attack follows a wave of violence close and far from the frontline, including weekend assaults that killed at least 20 civilians and injured over 120, a prison attack on Monday that killed 16 inmates, a hospital strike that killed three and the death of five civilians in the east.
HRMMU reported that Russia launched 10 times more missile and loitering munitions attacks against Ukraine compared with June 2024, killing 232 and injuring 1,343.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, stressed on social media that “international humanitarian law must be respected. All efforts must be taken to protect civilians. They are not a target.”
