On August 29, Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine. At least 23 people have been killed in the capital Kiev, according to Tymur Tkachenko, leader of the city's military government. More than 60 people were injured in the incident, which is considered one of the biggest attacks in recent times.
Major explosions shook the capital, black smoke rose high and many inner-city districts were damaged. Vitali Mayor Klitschko said the civil infrastructure system and many buildings were destroyed. The Ukrainian military confirmed that Russia had attacked 13 locations, including energy facilities, causing power outages in many areas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a response from Moscow to diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. He stressed that the targets of Russia are not military facilities but residential areas, passenger trains, the European Union (EU) office, the British Council and the Azerbaijani Embassy. A Turkish business was also damaged.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen strongly condemned the attack, saying it was a testament to Russia's readiness to attack civilians and international agencies. She said the two missiles fell close to the EU office just 20 seconds apart. The EU will soon complete the 19th package of sanctions and discuss the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also spoke out after the British Council building was damaged. He accused President Vladimir Putin of destroying peace hopes.
Moscow, meanwhile, said the targets were defense industrial facilities and military airports, adding that it still wanted to continue dialogue. However, Ukraine said thousands of civilians have been killed since the conflict broke out.
Ukraine said its air defense system had shot down most of Russia's missiles and drones, including 26/31 missiles and more than 560 drones.
In contrast, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had destroyed more than 100 Ukrainian drones and accused Kiev of attacking refineries in Russia.
