Russian ballistic missiles hit kyiv University, medical centers and major bridge – 1 dead, 14 injured

Key developments:

• Russia attacked kyiv on the night of October 26-27, launching several waves of ballistic missiles at the capital.
• One person was killed and 14 injured. Nine medical staff were hospitalized.
• The attacks targeted kyiv’s southern bridge, a university campus, an administrative building and medical centers.
• Damage to metro infrastructure caused temporary disruptions to public transportation in the city.

Russian ballistic missiles targeted kyiv in a deadly attack on the night of October 26-27, hitting a university campus, a major bridge, an administrative building and medical facilities.

kyiv, a city of three million people, has been relentlessly attacked by Russian ballistic missiles in recent months as Moscow exploits Ukraine’s lack of air defense. As its battlefield offensive has slowed, Russia has chosen a strategy of massive airstrikes against vulnerable civilians.

At least one person was killed and ten people were injured in the latest Russian attack, kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Victims injured in the attack included a paramedic, a medical technician and a 20-year-old university student.

Nine injured medical personnel were hospitalized, according to Klitschko.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said a university campus in the city was struck by Russia, next to Kyoto’s famous park and residential buildings in kyiv.

kyiv Independent journalists on the ground were the first to report that strong explosions rocked the city in Podilskyi and Obolon districts around 9:45 p.m. local time.

Minutes earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force warned that ballistic and other missiles were heading toward kyiv.

Explosions were heard near a metro station in kyiv’s Desnyanskyi district, where a car was damaged, Klitschko reported.

Two medical facilities in the Dniprovskyi district were also damaged in the attack, Klitschko said. In one of the two sites targeted by the shots, shock waves broke the windows of the intensive care unit. Windows were also broken at the other site.

A three-story commercial building was also “partially destroyed” in the area where a person was found dead, the State Emergency Service (DSNS) added.

A school building in the district was also damaged in the attack, the Kyiv city military administration wrote.

“University campus buildings, dormitories and neighboring residential buildings were damaged” in the Desnyanskyi district, DSNS said.

A few hours later, a new wave of ballistic missiles attacked the city in the middle of the night.

kyiv Independent journalists on the ground reported a new series of explosions around 3:30 a.m. local time. At least seven explosions rocked the city in the space of three minutes. The explosions came minutes after Ukraine’s air force warned that Russian ballistic missiles were on their way to the capital.

Another explosion rocked Kyiv about 15 minutes later, without warning.

The second wave of missiles hit an administrative building in the Podilskyi district, Klitshcko said. Non-residential buildings were also targeted in two other unspecified locations.

The mayor then flagged a strike on the city’s southern bridge, which spans the Dnipro River, one of Kyiv’s main traffic arteries. The bridge connects the east and west sides of the city and is crucial for the daily travel of hundreds of thousands of residents.

The bridge and subway-related infrastructure were damaged overnight, Klitschko said. Train service over the bridge has been temporarily suspended.

Some subway stations elsewhere in the city were damaged in the earlier attack, but were repaired by rescue workers overnight, the mayor reported.

Russia attacked the South Bridge and other key bridges several times in October, likely in an attempt to disrupt logistics and daily life in kyiv.

Earlier in the night, Zelensky condemned the Russian attack on kyiv and renewed his calls for allies to provide Ukraine with air defense.

“Russian ballistic missiles hit the grounds of a university in kyiv and its surroundings – actually the campus, Kyoto Park, the area near a metro station and residential buildings,” he said in a message to X.

“It is precisely in such circumstances, when the threat is constant, when strikes can occur at any time and directly target cities and villages, that artificial delays in providing air defense to Ukraine contribute to terrorism,” Zelensky added.

Russia regularly targets civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities as it continues to wage its war.

Ballistic missiles targeted kyiv in a deadly Russian attack on the night of October 13-14, killing five people and injuring 25 others.

At least one person was killed and 24 others were injured in another Russian ballistic missile attack on the night of October 22, in which cluster munitions also targeted the city.