A wave of Russian drone and missile strikes hit Kyiv and cities across Ukraine overnight Thursday, setting fires in the capital, killing a rescuer in Kharkiv, and injuring several people, according to local authorities.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said several homes and buildings in the capital – including a kindergarten – were damaged during the assault. The State Emergency Service reported that seven people were injured in the attack, and all fires caused by falling debris have been extinguished.
In the Podil district, firefighters put out a blaze in an apartment on the first floor of a five-story building and in nearby parked cars. Residents were evacuated. One business center in the district was also damaged by debris.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry announced a synagogue had been damaged as well during the attack.
“Russian terror does not spare anyone, including religious communities,” the foreign ministry said.
Its statement added that 640 places of worship and 67 religious leaders had been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
In the Desnianskyi district, a Russian drone struck the 21st floor of a 24-story residential building, but it did not detonate. Another drone hit an unfinished building nearby.
Eyewitnesses on social media reported that kamikaze drones hit the CHP-6 power plant in Kyiv’s Troieschyna district. By 3 a.m. local time, four people were reported injured in the capital.
The latest attack followed a wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine on Wednesday that killed seven people, including two children, and caused widespread power outages.
In the Kharkiv region, one rescuer was killed and five others were wounded after Russian forces hit the same site twice. The second strike targeted emergency crews who were extinguishing a fire caused by an earlier drone attack in the village of Zelenyi Hai, Kupyansk district.
The State Emergency Service identified the victim as 50-year-old Yuriy Chystikov, commander of the 43rd State Fire and Rescue Unit in the Kharkiv region.
In Sumy, a drone strike around 3 a.m. hit a railway station, injuring two workers. One man, 35, was hospitalized, while another, 28, received medical aid on site and was not seriously hurt.
Emergency services continue to assess the damage in affected regions and are working to restore essential infrastructure.