With African leaders visiting Ukraine, Russia fires missiles at Kyiv


KYIV, Ukraine — As a delegation of African leaders visited the Ukrainian capital Friday morning, bringing a proposal for “confidence-building measures” geared toward halting Russia’s warfare, Moscow launched a daytime barrage of airstrikes, bombarding Kyiv with a “huge mixed assault” of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, officers mentioned.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s official Twitter account posted a video of his arrival in Kyiv by practice early Friday morning, together with the leaders of Senegal, Egypt, Zambia and the Comoros — the primary cease in a peace mission to Ukraine and Russia. Shortly after, air raid sirens sounded within the capital. Then, explosions from air defenses rang out.

The barrage was a departure from the Kremlin’s typical technique of bombarding Ukrainian cities through the early-morning hours as residents try to sleep and the darkness makes it simpler to detect the placement of Ukrainian air defenses.

On Friday, Russia launched six Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles, six Kalibr cruise missiles and two self-destructing drones — “an enormous mixed air assault on Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, the pinnacle of town’s navy administration, mentioned in a submit on the Telegram social media software.

Ukrainian officers mentioned air protection methods intercepted your complete bombardment.

Ramaphosa’s workplace posted movies of the go to on Twitter — first from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, the place Russian forces had been accused of committing warfare crimes in opposition to the civilian inhabitants. Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for the South African president, mentioned that Ramaphosa and the opposite leaders arrived in Kyiv “safely” and that the mission was “continuing fairly nicely and as deliberate,” however he didn’t point out the air assault.

Ukrainian International Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that “Russian missiles are a message to Africa: Russia needs extra warfare, not peace.”

The top of the Kyiv regional police, Andrii Nebytov, posted photographs on social media of a personal residence within the Kyiv area that he mentioned was destroyed within the assault, presumably by particles from missile interceptions, including that “there are victims.” However he didn’t present additional particulars.

The assault follows Ukrainian officers’ asserting modest however regular features of their multipronged counteroffensive within the nation’s east, saying they’ve retaken some 40 sq. miles of territory and 7 villages. The claims couldn’t independently be verified.

On Friday, Ukrainian navy spokesman Andriy Kovalyov mentioned Kyiv’s forces had achieved “partial success” within the earlier 24 hours. “The place Ukrainian troopers are defending themselves, not a single place has been misplaced,” he mentioned.

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