Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least eight people, including a child, city officials said Thursday, as Moscow claimed to have captured Chasiv Yar, a key Ukrainian stronghold in the east of the country.
Drones and missile strikes hit at least 27 locations across the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Thursday, according to authorities. The air attack killed eight people and injured 73 others, a rescue services spokesperson later told AFP.
Among the dead was a six-year-old boy who died on the way to the hospital, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration.
“It’s a horrible morning in Kyiv,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on X. “The brutal Russian strikes destroyed entire residential buildings and damaged schools and hospitals. Civilians are injured and killed. There are still people under the rubble.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that its forces had seized control of Chasiv Yar, a town in eastern Ukraine that has served as a critical military hub for Kyiv.
The town “was liberated by Russian forces,” the ministry said in a statement. Ukraine’s military later disputed the claim, calling it a “lie.”
In January, sources on the ground in Chasiv Yar told The Moscow Times that the town had already come under de facto Russian control, as Ukrainian forces had largely been pushed to the outskirts.
If confirmed, the capture of the hilltop town marks another significant advance for Russian troops, who have been making slow but steady territorial gains in recent months.
The fall of Chasiv Yar could open a path for Russian forces to push toward key cities in the Donetsk region, including Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, both major logistical bases for Ukraine’s military and home to thousands of civilians who have so far remained.
Russia has made the capture of the Donetsk region a top priority, and in September 2022, it declared the annexation of the industrial territory.
AFP contributed reporting.
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