Russia Rains Missiles on Kyiv after Putin’s Warning, Poland Sends F-16s to Guard Airspace

Russian missiles rained on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other major cities killing two people and injuring over 50. The strikes damaged high-rise buildings and led to fires.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier said that Moscow will intensify strikes on Ukraine. News agency AFP said its journalists heard barrages of loud explosions which shook buildings in the city centre. Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko said one person was killed and 20 wounded in the capital.

“One wounded elderly woman from a building in the Solomyansky district… died in an ambulance. Twenty-seven wounded people were hospitalised,” Klitschko said.

Ukrainian officials said Russia fired 99 missiles on Tuesday but it downed 72 of them. “The enemy used 99 air attack weapons — missiles of various types,” commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny said on social media, adding that the air force “destroyed 72 air targets.”

Authorities in the capital said the missiles caused fires in a supermarket building, residential houses and a market, in several districts in Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Poland dispatched four F-16 fighter jets to its eastern border on Tuesday to protect its airspace.

“In order to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, two pairs of F-16 fighters and an allied air tanker were put into action,” the Polish army said in a statement.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched Kinzhal missiles. Tuesday’s attack came as both Russia and Ukraine intensified their war efforts. Last week, Ukraine struck Belgorod and Russia retaliated on December 29 by launching a wave of strikes across Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, which killed 39 people.

Russia Bombs Own Village

The Russian army said it accidentally bombed its own village in the southern Voronezh region near Ukraine on Tuesday but stressed there were no casualties. This is not the first time Russia has mistakenly attacked its own area, one of its warplanes accidentally dropped a bomb in its own city of Belgorod in April 2022.

A report by news agency AFP citing the Russian army said that “an abnormal discharge of aircraft ammunition occurred over the village of Petropavlovka”.

Voronezh governor Alexander Gusev said some of Petropavlovka’s residents have been moved to temporary accommodation as six private houses were damaged in the accident.