Kyiv strikes kill three as Zelensky arrives in Serbia
Local authorities confirm three deaths, including a child, in Holosiivskyi district as regional administration head Timur Tkachenko reports significant infrastructure damage following overnight missile salvos.
Russian ballistic missile strikes have killed three people, including a child, in the Kyiv region on Saturday, according to local authorities. The attack targeted the Holosiivskyi district, causing significant damage to residential apartment buildings, vehicles, and infrastructure, including fires at garages and a fuel tank.
Regional military administration head Timur Tkachenko confirmed the casualties, noting that three other people were wounded in the overnight strikes. The incident occurred hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Belgrade for a landmark visit to Serbia, a country with close ties to Moscow.
Moscow has significantly increased the frequency of attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent months, typically employing short, intense salvos of hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles. This tactical shift follows recent Ukrainian military actions, including strikes on oil refineries inside Russia and Moscow-linked vessels in the Black Sea, intended to limit Russian oil revenues used to finance the war.
The escalation in hostilities coincides with a period of faltering mediation talks between Russia and Ukraine. The latest strikes come just days after a previous attack across Ukraine killed 21 people, underscoring the intensifying nature of the conflict despite diplomatic efforts.
The timing of the assault has drawn attention given Zelensky’s presence in Belgrade. While the specific strategic intent behind the timing is not explicitly stated in official reports, the proximity of the attack to the president’s diplomatic engagement in a nation aligned with Moscow highlights the complex geopolitical landscape surrounding the ongoing war.
FRANCE 24’s Emmanuelle Chaze reported on the developments from Kharkiv, where the regional military administration provided further details on the extent of the damage and the response efforts following the missile impact.
