Russia and Ukraine Trade Blows With Missiles and Drones
Explosions rocked Kyiv in the middle of the day on Friday as Moscow targeted the Ukrainian capital with a barrage of missiles. Hours earlier, Ukraine sent hundreds of drones swarming deep into Russian territory and struck sites including warehouses belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries.
The dueling bombardments were the latest salvos in an air campaign that has escalated as the war’s front line remains mostly static.
Residents in Kyiv were alerted to the incoming barrage shortly before noon, with the familiar sound of air raid alerts blaring and of warnings from Ukraine’s air force.
The missile attack in Kyiv came after Ukrainian drone and missile strikes were reported at Russian fuel facilities, a military production plant and commercial warehouses.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine posted video of fires in the aftermath of several strikes, including one in Russia’s Kirov region, east of Moscow. That strike appeared to have been conducted with newly developed Flamingo missiles, which are made by Fire Point, a Ukrainian company, according to video and comments by the head of the company.
Mr. Zelensky said the facility in Kirov was a “key military enterprise” that supplied components for Russian aircraft and missile systems. The Russian authorities said at least six people were killed and 20 wounded in the strike.
The Ukrainian attack on Wildberries was the sixth since Saturday, and it targeted a major logistics center in St. Petersburg. Video showed smoke billowing from one of the buildings.
The company’s chief executive, Tatyana Kim, said no employees were injured in the strike. Eight people were killed in attacks on Wildberries sites on Saturday and one person on Wednesday, the Russian authorities have said.
