Kyiv residents search through the wreckage after Russia’s deadly barrage
Video. Residents of Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district spent Thursday assessing the damage after a Russian overnight barrage of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones tore through a residential area.
The attack began shortly after midnight on 20 August and lasted for nearly nine hours. In Solomianskyi, the upper floors of a nine-storey apartment block were destroyed, killing at least eight people and leaving others trapped beneath the rubble. Emergency crews rescued 12 residents as they searched the wreckage for survivors.
Rescuers worked through the debris as residents inspected shattered windows, damaged homes and burned vehicles. The strike also damaged nearby civilian infrastructure, including a school and a children’s hospital, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack caused extensive damage in three Kyiv districts, with Solomianskyi among the areas hit hardest. The strikes damaged residential buildings and critical infrastructure, while emergency services remained at the scene to clear rubble and secure unsafe structures.
The attack highlighted the vulnerability of Kyiv’s civilian areas to Russian ballistic missiles, which are difficult to intercept. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine urgently needed more air-defence interceptors, including Patriot systems capable of engaging some of Russia’s ballistic missiles.
Kyiv authorities declared Friday, 21 August, a day of mourning for those killed in the attack. Flags were flown at half-mast and public entertainment events were cancelled across the capital.
