A series of explosions rocked Kyiv on March 25 as Russia launched yet another missile attack on Ukraine’s capital, The Kyiv Independent reports.
Kyiv Independent correspondents in the capital heard at least four loud explosions just seconds after air raid sirens sounded at around 10: 30 a.m. local time and saw smoke rising from the left bank of the city.
In a post on Telegram, Kyiv’s military administration urged residents to take shelter “urgently.”
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said in a post on Telegram that debris from an intercepted missile had fallen in the city’s Pechersk district, damaging a non-residential building.
The building hit was the Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts, and the academy's gym and concert hall were destroyed, according to a Kyiv Independent reporter on the ground, citing the institution's employees. The Culture Ministry confirmed the academy was struck, adding that an employee was wounded.
Debris from intercepted missiles damaged two houses in the Solomianskyi district and a house in the Darnytskyi district, where the attack also caused a fire in a non-residential building, according to the city authorities.
Debris was initially also reported in the Dniprovskyi district though this was later retracted.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed emergency services had been called to the Pecherskiy, Solomyanskyi, and Dniprovskyi districts of the capital.
As of 3:30 p.m. local time, the number of victims in Kyiv's Pecherskiy district rose to 10, according to the State Emergency Service. The Kyiv City Military Administration clarified that out of the 10 victims, two people were wounded and hospitalized, and the remaining eight people suffered from shock.
Klitschko earlier said that among the victims were two pregnant women and a 16-year-old girl.
Information on further casualties is still being determined.
Fragments of an intercepted missile were also found in a wooded area in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv. No casualties were reported there.
The all-clear siren sounded in Kyiv just after 11: 00 a.m.
Later in the morning following the attack, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk said Russia had launched two ballistic missiles from occupied Crimea and that both had been intercepted by the air defenses.
In a post on X, United States Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, said: "Again this morning Russia is attacking Ukraine with hypersonic missiles. Loud explosions in Kyiv."
“Over the last five days, Russia has launched hundreds of missiles and drones against a sovereign country.
Ukraine needs our assistance now. There is not a moment to lose.”
