Residents of kyiv, already on their feet, first heard the sirens, then the shrill whistle of the missile approaching the ground.
A familiar noise since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, but the capital thought it was relatively spared since Moscow refocused its offensive on the East.
At 6:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, four explosions woke up those sleeping, half an hour after anti-aircraft sirens went off in the capital.
"As a result of an enemy bombardment, a fire broke out in a nine-story building," the state service for emergencies said on Telegram messaging.
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For Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, these new strikes are a form of "intimidation", in the run-up to the NATO summit from June 28 to 30 in Madrid, estimated the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitschko , from the site of the explosion, where journalists were also invited.
These explosions, which would have injured two people according to the very first reports, also occur a few hours before the opening of the meeting of the leaders of the G7 countries in the mountains of southern Germany.
The G7, then NATO
The leaders of the great powers, including US President Joe Biden, meet from 10:00 GMT in the Bavarian Alps, for the annual summit of the club of seven industrialized countries comprising Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom United and United States.
Mr. Biden arrived in Europe on Saturday evening where he intends to further consolidate, and over time, the ranks of Westerners against Moscow.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on G7 leaders not to "give up on Ukraine" and announced additional economic aid of up to $525 million, bringing the total to $1.8 billion.
It's difficult to see this morning's missile attack against residential areas of Kyiv 🇺🇦 as anything but a deliberate 🇷🇺 escalation and a signal to the G7 meeting in Elmau today.
pic.twitter.com/NvTftqyHPd
— Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) June 26, 2022
In kyiv, it is difficult to recover from “the cynical pressure, calculated on the emotions of the population”, in the words of President Volodymyr Zelensky, pronounced the day before.
If "no Russian missile or bombardment will break the spirit of the Ukrainians", he warned, the inhabitants of the capital are no less shocked.
“They've bombed here three times.
I woke up to the first explosion, went to the balcony and saw missiles falling and heard a huge explosion, everything vibrated,” Yuri, a 38-year-old resident, told AFP. didn't want to give his last name.
Irena, 32, dated her 17-month-old son Makar.
“We went down with our emergency backpack which has been near the door since the beginning of the war because we had to evacuate,” she said.
Strikes before the big meetings
A Ukrainian deputy, OleksiĂŻ Goncharenko affirmed on Telegram that the Russians had fired 14 missiles on kyiv and its region in the morning.
Many residents were at the foot of the buildings, many were in tears.
A woman was there in a bathrobe.
Rescuers were still roaming the rubble this Sunday morning: “Ambulances and rescuers are on site.
In two buildings, the rescue and evacuation of residents is underway,” added Mr. Klitschko.
He went there.
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The toll could have been worse: "A missile was shot down by anti-aircraft defense in the kyiv region, the debris fell on a village," said the governor of the kyiv region, OleksiĂŻ Kouleba, on Telegram.
The previous Russian strike in early June targeted a factory on the outskirts of kyiv, injuring one person.
At the end of April, another Russian bombardment hit the capital during a visit by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
A Ukrainian journalist from Radio Liberty was then killed in her apartment.