Ukraine and Russia on Thursday vowed fresh assaults in their four-year war after Moscow launched a massive barrage on Kyiv, killing at least 21 people, tearing open apartment buildings and sending tens of thousands to shelters. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces would "definitely" retaliate for the overnight pummelling of the capital as he inspected the site of an apartment block partially destroyed in the attack. In Moscow, the Kremlin vowed to further ramp up the "pressure" on Kyiv, sticking to its no-compromise rhetoric as rescuers in Kyiv scoured the rubble for survivors. The European Union's top diplomat proposed new sanctions on Moscow, while Zelensky asked the United States for licences to manufacture Patriot air defence missiles. Russia has routinely launched waves of missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities during its invasion, which has become Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
Smoke plumes over Kyiv in the wake of massive Russian drone and missile attacks. © Roman Pilipey, AFP
AFP journalists in central and eastern Kyiv heard more than a dozen explosions and saw residents – some with children and pets – rushing to shelter in metro stations. In the morning, locals stood on the rubble of destroyed apartment blocks ripped apart by the barrage, as smoke poured over the Kyiv skyline.
