Russia strikes Kyiv as Western leaders meet in Europe

27/6/2022 4:23

        Russia shattered weeks of relative calm in the Ukrainian capital with long-range missiles fired toward Kyiv early Sunday, an apparent Kremlin show-of-force as Western leaders meet in Europe to strengthen their military and economic support of Ukraine.
        
        Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the missiles hit at least two residential buildings, and killed one person and injured six others, including a 7-year-old girl and her mother.
        
        According to journalists on the ground they saw emergency workers battling flames and rescuing civilians from the buildings.
        
        The strikes also damaged a nearby kindergarten, where a crater pocked the courtyard.
        
        U.S. President Joe Biden called the attacks “barbarism” after he arrived in Germany for a Group of Seven summit.
        
        Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said the first air-launched weapons to successfully target the capital since June 5 were Kh-101 cruise missiles fired from warplanes over the Caspian Sea, more than 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) away.
        
        Kyiv's mayor told journalists he thought the airstrikes were “maybe a symbolic attack” ahead of a NATO summit in Madrid that starts Tuesday.
        
        A former commander of U.S. forces in Europe said the strikes also were a signal to the leaders of G-7 nations meeting Sunday in Germany.