Steph Deschamps / February. 26, 2022
A large residential building in Kiev was heavily hit by a missile, the state emergency service said Saturday, but it could not immediately give information about possible casualties.
The missile hit the building between the 18th and 21st floors, the Ukrainian service said, adding that an evacuation was underway. Russia announced shortly before that it had fired cruise missiles, on the third day of its invasion of Ukraine.
Gunfire had also been heard on Saturday morning near Ukrainian government buildings in Kiev, a witness told Reuters news agency. Shooting is ongoing in the area.
Ukraine previously reported an attack on a military base some 7 kilometers from the center of the city, which the Ukrainian military said was repelled.
Photos showed fires and gunfire could be heard on videos circulating on social networks. Other areas of the city are affected by gunfire and explosions. This is particularly true of the Obolon neighborhood in the north of the city.
The Ukrainian armed forces said Saturday that they repelled a nighttime attack by Russian soldiers on one of their positions along Kiev's main traffic artery. The attack was repelled, a Ukrainian military Facebook post read. No further details were given on the exact location of the clash.
Russian troops also attacked a power plant in the Troieshchyna district, north-east of Kiev.
The population of Kiev was prepared for the worst after the message of its president on Friday. Tonight, they will try to take over Kiev, said Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address broadcast Friday eveningon the website of the presidency.