Vladimir Putin marked his 74th birthday with a sweeping missile and drone assault on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
The attack killed two people on Wednesday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that a large-scale strike was imminent.
Kyiv has faced increasingly frequent attacks in recent weeks as winter draws nearer. Air raid sirens have sounded almost continuously, warning residents of incoming Russian missiles and drones.
Ukrainian intelligence agencies had warned ahead of time that Russia could launch a major assault on Putin’s birthday.
Residents sought shelter in Kyiv’s subway stations early Wednesday, carrying duffel bags, sleeping mats and blankets after military authorities issued alerts across the capital and other parts of Ukraine.
“We grabbed our things and came here; we live right next door,” said Iryna Rybalchenko, a bank employee who sat on the platform in a dark hoodie, surrounded by bags.
“The whole of Kyiv is afraid. We were stuck at work today, and everyone—our group chats and our bosses—was messaging us to be careful.”
Russian strikes have hit energy facilities, railway links and roads, including bridges spanning the Dnipro River and connecting Kyiv’s two banks.
Fire and smoke billow over Kyiv during a Russian missile and drone assault
Smoke rises over Kyiv during a Russian missile strike amid the continuing war in Ukraine
Putin turned 74 on the day Russia launched a missile assault on Kyiv
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had conducted a “massive strike” against military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and several other Ukrainian regions. It said the operation used precision weapons launched from land, sea and air, alongside drones.
According to the ministry, the targets included facilities operated by Fire Point, where Flamingo cruise missiles and medium- and long-range drones are produced and stored. The sites were located in Kyiv and the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kharkiv regions.
The ministry also reported attacks on port and ship-repair facilities in the Odesa region, as well as vessels it claimed were supporting Ukraine’s armed forces.
Klitschko said two people died after a fire broke out in the densely populated Darnytskyi district during Wednesday’s assault.
“Two people were rescued as firefighters battled the blaze,” he wrote on Telegram.
“The bodies of two people who were killed were later found.”
Zelensky had urged people to remain alert to air raid sirens, saying in his nightly address that updated intelligence indicated Russia was preparing a “massive strike.”
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He said Ukraine’s military was “ready to respond, to the extent that our defence systems allow.”
Shortly after Zelensky’s address, planned power cuts left parts of Kyiv in darkness as authorities tried to reduce strain on the heavily damaged electricity network.
The Ukrainian air force warned that a ballistic missile was heading for Kyiv.
Firefighters work at the site of private car garages hit by a Russian missile strike
A resident with a dog looks on at the site of private car garages hit by a Russian missile strike
People take shelter inside a metro station during a Russian missile strike
A firefighter walks through the smoke at the site of a warehouse hit by a missile
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Military monitoring channels also said they expected a large-scale Russian attack, combining cruise and ballistic missiles with fast-moving jet-powered drones.
‘The children were absolutely terrified. Whenever there’s heavy shelling, we try to head underground,’ Daria Medvedeva, 36, said.
In the northeastern region of Sumy Oblast, Russian drone attacks killed two men and wounded scores of people, the National Police of Ukraine said.
It said the wounded included three children aged seven, 14 and 16, who were hurt when an apartment was hit.
Kyiv’s mayor warned last week the capital should now be on a war footing as the enemy was ‘tearing Kyiv apart’ with strikes on bridges and energy infrastructure.
Ukraine’s military had also warned a ballistic missile was heading to Zaporizhzhia in the South East, where authorities said an attack damaged transport infrastructure.
The onslaught comes as last week Mr Zelensky claimed that Putin had ordered his military leaders to ‘abandon the rules of war’.
His order coincided with Russia’s increased assault on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, Mr Zelensky told the Financial Times.
