Russian air strikes killed at least eight people across Ukraine on Thursday, with attacks reaching as far as the western city of Lviv and prompting neighboring Poland to scramble fighter jets to secure its airspace. The strikes occurred as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned from the United States.
Air raid alerts sounded across most regions of Ukraine, and explosions were heard in Kyiv. Emergency services reported one person killed and two injured in the capital. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, six people, including two children, were killed. Another person died in Poltava.
In Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky's hometown, two young girls were among six killed by what officials described as a direct strike from a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile launched from Russia's Voronezh region. The missile reportedly struck a large family's home, and the death toll could rise as rescue efforts continue.
In Lviv, near the Polish border, rescue workers were working to free people trapped after Russian missiles damaged two apartment buildings, injuring 26 people.
Zelensky had warned of a potential large-scale Russian attack, stating that the safety of Ukrainians depended on allies providing anti-missile defenses. "It is important that our partners fully understand what is happening and that the protection of people’s lives depends directly on their willingness," he wrote on Telegram.
Russia's defense ministry stated that its forces targeted military facilities across Ukraine, from Kyiv to Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk, as well as three cargo ships. Poland, a member of NATO and the European Union, confirmed that its armed forces scrambled fighter jets to protect its airspace during the Russian strikes. Polish police near the Ukrainian border reported hearing a loud bang and discovering a crater and debris from an unidentified object in a field.
Meanwhile, a warehouse belonging to Russia's online retailer Wildberries in Penza caught fire following a Ukrainian drone attack, according to regional governor Oleg Melnichenko. Approximately 200 people were evacuated, and one person was injured. Another Wildberries facility in Sarapul also experienced a fire after a drone attack. These incidents follow previous attacks on Wildberries facilities, which have reportedly damaged about 10% of the company's storage capacity and impacted tens of thousands of small businesses relying on the platform. Russia’s defense ministry reported downing 258 drones overnight, a figure that includes those in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the ongoing conflict.