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Four people killed in Kyiv after large-scale Russian strikes in Ukraine

Four people killed in Kyiv after large-scale Russian strikes in Ukraine

BBC News06-06-2025

Russia launched large-scale drone and missile strikes on Ukraine's capital and other parts of the country early on Friday, local officials said. At least four people were killed in Kyiv and at least 20 have been injured, the city's mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said.Aerial raids also targeted the city of Lutsk and the Ternophil region in the north-west of the country.The attack came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned US President Donald Trump he would respond to Ukraine's recent strikes on Russian airbases.
Three of the four people killed in Kyiv were rescue workers, according to Ukraine's state emergency service (DSNS). "They were working under attack to help people. Another nine rescue workers were wounded. Some seriously, and doctors are fighting to save their lives," DSNS said. Air raid alerts were in place in the capital, as well as the cities of Kharkiv, Sumy and Luhansk. Kyiv's train system was disrupted after shelling damaged metro tracks.Outside of the capital, Ternopil's military chief Vyacheslav Negoda said Friday's strike was the "most massive air attack on our region to date".Mayor of Ternopil, Igor Polishchuk, said five people were wounded in the attack and there was damage to homes, schools and a government facility.In Lutsk, five people were injured in an attack using 15 drones and six missiles, according to mayor Ihor Polishchuk. Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry said its air defences shot down 174 Ukrainian drones overnight in parts of Russia and occupied Crimea. The ministry said Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles were also intercepted over the Black Sea. Russia's latest attack on Ukraine comes days after Kyiv launched its biggest long-range drone strike on at least 40 Russian warplanes at four military bases.Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said 117 drones were used in the so-called "Spider's Web" operation by the SBU security service, striking "34% of [Russia's] strategic cruise missile carriers".Moscow had previously said that military options were "on the table" for its response to Ukraine's attack.

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