At least 16 dead and 86 injured in a massive attack on Ukraine's major cities

BarcelonaA massive Russian attack on the main cities of Ukraine has caused at least 16 deaths and 86 injuries tonight in residential areas, especially in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Odesa, the most affected localities. The attack began after two in the morning local time and strong explosions were felt in two waves in the capital, where, according to emergency services, four people (including a 12-year-old child) have died and 48 more have been injured. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that among the injured there are children and four paramedics.

The attacks did not stop with the sunrise: early in the morning, while emergency teams were still clearing the rubble from the night's assault, air raid sirens were activated again in Kyiv and a Russian drone hit an apartment building. The missiles and drones have caused damage in several neighborhoods of the city. In the Podilsk district, a non-residential building received a direct hit, and other areas were affected by debris from shot-down missiles.

Faced with this wave of attacks, Volodymyr Zelensky has assured that "there can be no normalization" of relations with Moscow, and has asked for international pressure to be maintained until it takes effect. "Russia deserves no relief in global politics nor the lifting of sanctions," he stressed. From the European Union, the President of the European Council, António Costa, has assured that Russia's war against Ukraine "has failed." "That is why it deliberately chooses to terrorize civilians."

Ukraine has responded to the Russian attacks by launching a wave of drones over the Kherson region, annexed by Russia in 2022. According to the local pro-Russian governor, Vladimir Saldo, two civilians have died in the Ukrainian bombings, and three more have been injured. Russian authorities have also assured that their air defenses intercepted 207 drones early this morning over six Russian regions and the Black and Azov Seas.

Daily attacks

The fighting between Kyiv and Moscow is daily, and it did not stop even during the symbolic truce that the two sides agreed on last weekend for the Orthodox Easter. Then, both Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating it, and they tried to use the breaches of the brief ceasefire to show Trump, in view of possible negotiations, that the opposing side does not want peace.

However, Ukraine has become a testing ground for military technology, and is gaining an advantage in attacking with drones and robots. This very week it has managed to push back Russian troops using only drones and robots, that is, without exposing any soldier directly to the bombs. Russia, however, maintains active attack capability, and just under a month ago launched the most massive attack on Ukraine since the start of the war.