Russia says 'massive attack' on Kyiv was retaliation for Ukraine's strikes as 'almost all of Ukraine' targeted
by Shannon Cook · LBCBy Shannon Cook
Russia says the 'massive attack' on Kyiv was in retaliation to Ukrainian strikes.
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It comes after the Kremlin launched a wave of drone strikes on Ukraine’s capital late on Thursday night, forcing residents to flee underground to shelter.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the assault was comprised of more than 400 drones and 40 missiles.
At least 49 people were reported injured in the attack, according to Zelenskyy.
Meanwhile, the number of people killed could still rise from the current figure of three.
The Ukrainian president said all were rescue workers.
Officials said earlier that four people were killed in Kyiv.
"They targeted almost all of Ukraine", Zelenskyy said.
He added: "Russia must be held accountable for this. Since the first minute of this war, they have been striking cities and villages to destroy life."
He doubled down on the need for pressure on Russia - warning that "giving the war more time" becomes "complicity and accountability".
He said: "We must act decisively."
In a statement released by the Ministry of Defence, Russia said its forces attacked Ukraine in response to "terrorist acts".
It reads: "Tonight, in response to the terrorist acts of the Kyiv regime, the Russian Armed Forces carried out a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, sea and land-based weapons, as well as attack UAVs, on design bureaus, enterprises for the production and repair of weapons and military equipment of Ukraine, workshops for the assembly of attack drones, training centres for flight personnel, as well as warehouses of weapons and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"The goal of the strike was achieved. All designated objects were hit."
The Kremlin may be retaliating to the bridge attacks in Russia, which Ukraine did not take responsibility for, Sky News reported.
Elsewhere, Vladimir Putin’s forces fired at least 15 drones and six missiles at the northwestern city of Lutsk, injuring five people.
This wave of Russian strikes comes after Putin vowed to respond to Ukraine’s unprecedented attack on Kremlin bombers last week.
On Thursday, Russia killed at least six people, including a baby, in strikes on the northern Ukrainian city of Pryluky.
The deadly attack came just hours after President Donald Trump shared a phone call with Putin, where the Russian leader vowed to take revenge for Ukraine’s recent attack on a Kremlin military base.
According to Trump, Putin told him that Russia would respond "very strongly" to a Ukrainian attack on its airfields over the weekend.
Ukraine targeted more than 40 stationary Russian bomber planes in a large-scale drone attack, which Zelenskyy celebrated as an ‘absolutely brilliant result’.
117 drones were smuggled inside special containers on trucks before they were flown out of them, according to a Ukrainian government source.
The attack is understood to be a major breach of Russia's natural defences, and will degrade the Russian military's ability to strike Ukraine with missiles.
The US president warned in a social media post that Putin would respond to the attack.
He wrote: "it was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace."
It was Trump's first known call with Putin in over two weeks, since their call on May 19 which Trump described as ‘excellent’ at the time.
But Trump appears no closer to achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine, something he promised to do ‘on day one’ of his second term in the White House, during his presidential campaign.