Ukraine: Multiple missiles hit Kyiv district — live updates | News | DW | 26.06.2022

2022-06-26 13:16:49 By : Ms. Qiqi Kong

Take a look at the beta version of dw.com. We're not done yet! Your opinion can help us make it better.

We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration.

Ukrainian officials said at least five people were injured and some were trapped under the rubble after missiles struck a district near Kyiv's center. Meanwhile, G7 leaders are meeting in Germany. DW has the latest.

Missiles hit a residential building in the typically lively district

This article was last updated at 12:12 UTC/GMT

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Zelenksyy, said that the latest Russian strikes on Kyiv make clear that international sanctions on Russia should be more aggressive.

"The sanctions should be more aggressive. An embargo on gold exports is good, but a gas embargo is needed in the new EU sanctions package," Yermak said.

Yermak was referring to the decision taken by four countries at the G7 this morning to ban imports of Russian gold to further economically isolate Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also called for more sanctions against Russia after Sunday's strikes. 

"This seven-year-old Ukrainian kid was sleeping peacefully in Kiev until a Russian cruise missile blasted her home," he wrote on Twitter, referring to a girl that was rescued from the rubble after the explosion in a residential building. 

The EU adopted the sixth package of sanctions on Russia earlier this June and imposed a partial embargo on Russian oil. But, the bloc has not placed sanctions on Russian gas yet.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Russian forces struck three Ukrainian military training centers in northern and western Ukraine.

Strikes were carried out with "high-precision weapons of Russia's aerospace forces and Kalibr missiles," the ministry's statement read.

Russian news agencies said the military centers were located in the northern Chernihiv, the northwestern Zhytomyr and the western Lviv regions of Ukraine.

The center in Lviv was around 19 miles (30 kilometers) from the border with Poland, a NATO member.

NATO leaders are due to gather in Madrid, Spain, for their annual summit on June 28.

US President Joe Biden said Russian air strikes in Kyiv Sunday morning were "more of their [Russian] barbarism."

Biden was responding to a question by reporters at the G7 summit about Russian strikes that hit residential buildings in Kyiv this morning for the first time in weeks.

Germany is hosting this year's G7 annual summit — with leaders of the US, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, and the UK — from Sunday to Tuesday at the Elmau luxury resort in the Bavarian Alps.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, along with US President Joe Biden opened the summit Sunday, with Biden complimenting Scholz for stepping up to the challenges in Ukraine and saying it was important for them "to stay together."

European Council President Charles Michel condemned Russia's "hunger games" before the summit began, saying that Moscow was "using food as a silent weapon of war."

World leaders are set to discuss the war in Ukraine, food security, inflation, and climate change. 

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Russian troops in Ukraine on Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry said. This was his first announced visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February.

The ministry released a video showing Shoigu stepping off a plane in dark green military fatigues and then conferring with military officials.

Shoigu also awarded medals to Russian soldiers. His location in Ukraine was not disclosed. 

The US, UK, Canada and Japan announced Sunday that they will be banning Russian gold exports.

The joint action "will directly hit Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of Putin's war machine," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.

The move by the four G7 powers is supposed to prevent Russian oligarchs from buying gold to reduce the impact of sanctions against Russia. 

Gold accounts for about £12.6 billion (€14.6 billion, or $15.5 billion) to the Russian economy, and is a major export for the country.

Due to the sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many of the richest have converted their assets into gold to offset the impact of restrictions. 

The London Bullion Market had already suspended six Russian refineries in action announced on March 7.

Given London's central role in the international gold trade and parallel US, Japanese and Canadian action, "this measure will have global reach, shutting the commodity out of formal international markets," Britain said.

Britain's Ministry of Defense said most Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from their remaining defensive positions in the city of Sievierodonetsk.

The intelligence update said this was a significant development for Russia's offensive with a focus on the Donbas region.

The British report said Russian forces will also need to advance on the major center of Kramatorsk and secure major supply routes to the Donetsk city if Moscow wishes to occupy the whole of the Donbas region. 

"Of course it is a blow for the [Ukrainian] armed forces but also, I think it is a change of tactics for the Ukrainian side. Remember in Mariupol, Ukrainian soldiers were trapped in the Azovstal steel plant for months, and there has been criticism against the Ukrainian government as to why they didn't come to rescue the soldiers," DW Correspondent Emmanuelle Chaze said about the situation in Sievierdonetsk. 

"So we could see it as a change of tactics from the Ukrainian side to regroup and be better prepared for further offensives from the Russian troops in the region of Luhansk, which has been under heavy shelling, with no respite for people living there," she added. 

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that multiple explosions had taken place in the central Shevchenkivsky district at around 6:30 a.m. local time (0330 UTC) on Sunday. 

The district is home to universities, restaurants, and galleries. 

"Ambulance crews and rescuers dispatched to the scene. Residents are being rescued and evacuated from two buildings," he said.

At least five people were wounded when a missile hit a building, the head of Ukraine's police force Ihor Klymenko said in a television interview.

Klitschko said the Russian missile strike was intended to "intimidate Ukrainians," ahead of the NATO summit in Madrid from June 28-30.

Klitschko later said two people were hospitalized and rescue efforts were ongoing as people were trapped under the rubble. He said a seven-year-old girl had been rescued from the rubble, and her mother was currently being removed as well. 

Emmanuelle Chaze, DW's correspondent in Kyiv, said one person was found dead after the shelling. She tweeted a video of a building in ruins, saying five had been injured. 

Anton Herashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian interior minister, said a nine-story apartment building was struck, and another rocket hit the grounds of a kindergarten.

The AFP news agency had reported four explosions, adding that a residential complex near the center of the city had been hit, causing a fire and cloud of grey smoke.

Russia intends to supply nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile systems to Belarus in the coming months, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday.

"In the coming months, we will transfer to Belarus Iskander-M tactical missile systems, which can use ballistic or cruise missiles, in their conventional and nuclear versions," Putin said in a broadcast on Russian television at the start of his meeting with Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko in Saint Petersburg.

Putin also said Russia would help Belarus upgrade its fleet of Su-25 fighter jets to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday urged fellow G7 leaders not to "give up" on Ukraine four months into Russia's war. He also pledged fresh financial support for Kyiv.

In a late-night video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had been hit by 45 Russian missiles over the previous 24 hours, which he described as a cynical attempt to break Ukrainians' spirits.

The Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast is now completely under Russian control, a senior official from Russia's Defense Ministry has said.

Ukraine's largest LGBTQ rights event, KyivPride, has taken place jointly with Warsaw's annual Equality Parade owing to restrictions imposed in Ukraine amid Russia's invasion.

Buildings and infrastructure at a nuclear research facility in the northeastern city of Kharkiv has been damaged by Russian shelling, Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate said.

Russia is drawing on reservists to replenish its forces in eastern Ukraine, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence has told Reuters news agency.

Russia came down heavily on military sites in western and northern Ukraine with dozens of missiles targeting these locations.

Click here to catch up with all of Saturday's major developments regarding the war in Ukraine.

rm, tg, dh/fb (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)

© 2022 Deutsche Welle | Privacy Policy | Accessibility Statement | Legal notice | Contact | Mobile version