Casualties reported in Kyiv as Russia, Ukraine trade accusations about overnight strikes - Anadolu Ajansı

Russia and Ukraine on Saturday traded accusations concerning overnight air attacks, as local authorities reported multiple casualties in Kyiv following a missile strike.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (DSNS) said in a Telegram statement that Russian strikes in the country’s capital caused damage to an unspecified number of residential buildings, a kindergarten, and a non-residential building in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district.

Initially reporting that three people were injured due to the strikes, the DSNS later updated the number of injuries to six, adding that damage has also been inflicted by the overnight attack in the capital’s Darnytskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko accused Russia of targeting infrastructure in the city using ballistic missiles, later reporting that energy facilities in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions have been damaged overnight.

“The energy supply situation in the capital is extremely difficult, which has also affected the operation of the city’s heating and water supply systems. Energy workers and municipal crews are working to restore services for the city's residents,” Klitschko said.

In another statement, Klitschko said Kyiv’s Pivnichnyi Bridge was damaged during the overnight attack, adding that traffic across the northern bridge has been closed while specialists are assessing the extent of the damage.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, said one person was killed in the broader region surrounding the Ukrainian capital following strikes that targeted five districts.

"In addition to Kyiv, twelve other regions came under attack," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on US social media platform X following overnight strikes that he said injured nine people, asserting Russia used 172 drones and 36 ballistic missiles during the attacks.

"When Russia is trying to plunge Kyiv – a city of millions – and the entire country into a blackout, Ukraine must not be left alone. We are counting on increased bilateral support from the United States," Zelenskyy said, adding that it is important for support for Ukraine to remain among the priorities of US policy and that Washington's "resolve and consistency in supporting Ukraine are crucial in bringing peace closer."

Ukraine’s Air Force claimed that its air defenses shot down 149 out of 172 drones and four ballistic missiles during Russia’s overnight attacks, which it said were mainly directed toward the Kyiv region.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed launching a “massive” strike on Kyiv overnight, saying it targeted military-industrial complex, energy sector, and transportation infrastructure facilities in the Ukrainian capital, including the Pivnichnyi Bridge.

It claimed that the infrastructure targeted by Russia was utilized by Kyiv to “support the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

A day earlier, Zelenskyy said his country had intelligence that Russia planned a strike targeting Ukraine’s energy sector, as well as bridges across the Dnieper River and civilian infrastructure.

“We need interceptor missiles for our Patriots. Every agreement matters, and every day counts when it comes to deliveries. We're asking our partners very strongly: please don't put off deliveries,” the Ukrainian president said in his evening video address.

In Russia, local authorities in the Rostov and Saratov regions reported damage to residential buildings and homes from overnight Ukrainian strikes.

Separately, Oryol Gov. Andrey Klychkov said three private residences, as well as warehouse and production facilities belonging to commercial enterprises in the regional capital, were damaged during overnight attacks.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed it downed 411 Ukrainian drones across 10 regions, as well as over the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

Independent verification of Russian and Ukrainian claims is difficult due to the ongoing war.

Both countries deny deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, maintaining that strikes are directed only at military targets or facilities linked to military activities.

The strikes come days ahead of a new round of US-mediated trilateral peace talks due to begin in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

They also come a day after Zelenskyy and Klitschko traded accusations of each other's alleged inaction amid prolonged power and water outages in Kyiv, caused by Russian strikes on energy facilities, as the war-torn country enters another winter heating season.