Ukraine’s defense forces have reported at least one death and significant damage to multiple embassies following an early morning Russian missile attack on Kyiv.
The Kyiv City Military Administration confirmed the fatality in a post on Telegram, adding that 12 others were injured. Among the injured, the majority required urgent medical attention, with five individuals hospitalized.
This missile strike comes in retaliation to recent Ukrainian attacks on Russia, including the assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops. Reports indicate Kirillov was killed by a bomb concealed in an electric scooter.
The attack also occurred a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a challenge to Ukraine during his end-of-year conference, describing it as a “duel.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by calling Putin a “dumbass” in an online statement.
“Let them propose… some kind of technological experiment – a kind of high-tech duel of the 21st century, let’s say,” Putin remarked during the event in Moscow. Zelensky’s sharp retort quickly followed, fueling tensions further.
Head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Serhiy Popko, confirmed that the missile strike caused widespread damage across several densely populated districts in the central city.
One heavily affected building housed several embassies, including those of Albania, Argentina, Palestine, North Macedonia, Portugal, and Montenegro, which were destroyed in the attack.
