Nine dead and dozens injured in Russian bombing in Kiev

BarcelonaAt least nine people were killed and more than 70 injured in the massive Russian attack launched early in the morning against the Ukrainian capital, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klimenko. The missile bombardment affected five districts of the city and is one of the deadliest in Kiev since the start of the war three years ago. The massive attack comes after the president declaredc, Donald Trump, will redouble the pressure on Zelensky to accept a partition of Ukraine by handing over parts of its territory (Crimea and the annexed eastern provinces) to Russia.

The Sviatoixin district has been the hardest hit. "[Here] the situation is tragic. The rubble of a destroyed house is still being removed. Engineers, rescuers, and dogs are working. Phone calls can be heard from under the rubble [...]," the State Emergency Service explained. According to the head of the Kiev City Military Administration, Timur Tchechenko, Russia has attacked the Ukrainian capital with drones, guided missiles, and ballistic missiles.

Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klychko said rescue teams were still pulling survivors from the rubble, and that the injured included six children and a pregnant woman. Debris from intercepted missiles also caused damage as they fell on buildings and vehicles.

Aside from the capital, Russia also launched massive attacks on the regions of Khitomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Sumi, and Zaporizhia. In Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, seven missiles and 12 suicide drones were launched. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said there were two injuries and that the targets were several houses, a factory, and an apartment block in a densely populated residential area.

On Wednesday, Trump accused Zelensky of prolonging "the massacre" and making statements "that cause a lot of damage" by ruling out recognizing Russian sovereignty over Crimea and other Ukrainian territories and demanding a ceasefire before negotiations begin.

Olha Rudenko, director of the Kyiv Independent, criticized Washington's policy: "I can't explain how surreal it is to be sitting on the floor in the safest part of my apartment feeling the loud booms of a Russian missile and drone attack, after having spent all day discussing and editing articles about how the United States is, in fact, demanding surrender."