A massive Russian drone and missile strike has wounded at least 20 people in Kyiv, plunging Ukraine\u2019s capital into darkness early on Friday in what Volodomyr Zelenskyy condemned as a \u201ccynical and calculated\u201d attack.<\/p>\n
Kyiv\u2019s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said Russian forces had targeted \u201ccritical infrastructure\u201d, and fragments from downed drones struck several parts of the city. Images posted online showed firefighters working to tackle burning blocks of flats.<\/p>\n
The Ukrainian air force said the overnight Russian barrage comprised 465 drones and 32 missiles, and that its air defence systems downed 405 and 15 of them respectively.<\/p>\n
In the heart of Kyiv<\/a>, rescuers pulled more than 20 people out of a 17-storey block of flats as flames engulfed the sixth and seventh floors. Five people were taken to hospital, while others received first aid at the scene, authorities said.<\/p>\n Elsewhere in Ukraine, a seven-year-old child was killed in Russian strikes in the south-east.<\/p>\n President Zelenskyy said the main target had been Ukraine\u2019s energy infrastructure as temperatures begin to drop.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is precisely the civilian and energy infrastructure that is the main target of Russia\u2019s strikes ahead of the heating season,\u201d Zelenskyy said in a post on X as he called for more support from Kyiv\u2019s allies.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s needed is not window dressing but decisive action \u2013 from the United States, Europe<\/a>, and the G7 \u2013 in delivering air defence systems and enforcing sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n Zelenskyy warned on Thursday that Moscow was seeking to \u201ccreate chaos and apply psychological pressure\u201d by damaging energy facilities and railways. The Ukrainian private energy firm DTEK said its thermal power plants had suffered significant damage in the attack but did not immediately provide further details.<\/p>\n The Kremlin has escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems in recent weeks, escalating bombing campaigns it carried out over the previous three winters that left people without heating in frigid temperatures.<\/p>\n Urging people in Kyiv to remain in shelters, the Ukrainian air force said: \u201cThe capital of the country is under an enemy ballistic missile attack and a massive attack by the enemy strike drones.\u201d<\/p>\n The prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said the assault was among the heaviest concentrated strikes on energy infrastructure since the war began and reported significant damage.<\/p>\n Firefighters work to extinguish fires in a block of flats in Kyiv after the Russian attack. Photograph: Ukrainian State Emergency Service\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Around 28,000 families in the Kyiv region remained without power on Friday morning, the governor, Mykola Kalashnyk, said.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Headlines Europe<\/p>\n A digest of the morning’s main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as safety conditions allow, energy experts will begin clarifying the consequences of the attack and conducting restoration work.\u201d<\/p>\n Russia also hit the south-eastern region of Zaporizhzhia with at least seven overnight drone strikes, killing a seven-year-old and wounding at least three people, according to Ivan Fedorov, the head of the regional military administration.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy has said Russian attacks this year have already strained Ukrainian gas infrastructure, and more strikes could force his country to increase imports.<\/p>\n