One person was killed and at least six were injured in a Russian missile attack on a residential building in Kyiv. Deputy mayor of the city Vladimir Bondarenko said that four victims were hospitalized, search and rescue work continues.
Bondarenko also said that a kindergarten was damaged in the missile attack, but no one was hurt, and the video of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry showed a large missile crater in the kindergarten’s backyard.
The CNN team spoke to the injured girl’s grandmother, Natalia Nikitina, on the spot, who learned about the attack online and rushed to the apartment building, where she wept as she watched the teams try to rescue her daughter-in-law.
“There is nothing worse than losing loved ones. Why do we deserve this? she said. A huge plume of smoke continued to rise from the building two hours after the impact, while almost every window on the top floor was shattered and the ground was covered in debris and twisted metal.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said that “strategic bombers” with “four to six missiles” were used to attack the capital. He added that on Saturday, for the first time, Russia used Tu22M3 long-range bombers from Belarusian airspace as part of a Ukrainian airstrike.
“People are under the rubble. Some residents have been evacuated, two injured have been hospitalized. Rescuers continue their work,” he said.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine stated that the fire was caused by “enemy shelling” on an area of 300 square meters, in a “9-storey residential building with partial destruction of the 7th, 9th and 9th floors.”
The same area came under rocket fire in early May and was also targeted in March.
Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Vadim Denisenko said on Ukrainian television that “a number of military infrastructure facilities are located in the Shevchenkovsky district of the Ukrainian capital. That is why the Russians are shelling this area.”
US President Joe Biden called Sunday’s attack “rather [Russian] barbarism”. He declined to answer the question whether the strikes were a deliberate provocation during the G7 summit.
Russian offensive continues in eastern Ukraine
On Sunday, the head of the military administration in the neighboring Donetsk region, Pavel Kirilenko, said that Russian troops were gathering for new attacks in the region, almost half of which is under Ukrainian control.
“Now we are witnessing the accumulation of manpower, heavy armored vehicles and artillery in the direction of Slavyansk,” Kirilenko said on Ukrainian television.
“The enemy uses his well-known tactic, trying to get closer to our line of defense in order to bombard the cities with artillery. Enemy artillery is already reaching some areas of Slavyansk. This is another confirmation of the need to evacuate people.”
Throughout the offensive in the east, Russian forces used heavy artillery and rocket fire before attempting to capture territory. They attack areas of Donetsk from three directions.
Kirilenko said there had been rocket attacks and rocket attacks on Kurakhovo, a town on the southern front line in Donetsk that has been the target of Russian attacks for more than two months. According to him, Avdiivka was also shelled.
As Russian forces ramp up their offensive in eastern Ukraine, the city of Kharkiv and surrounding areas are once again coming under artillery fire.
A video released by the RIA Novosti news agency shows Shoigu disembarking from a helicopter at an undisclosed location and meeting with officers in what appears to be a command center.
The Telegram channel of the Russian Defense Ministry says that Shoigu “listened to commanders’ reports on the current situation and actions of the Russian Armed Forces in the main areas of operations at command posts.”
Shoigu was also seen presenting medals to several soldiers, including the “Gold Star of the Hero of the Russian Federation and the Order of Courage,” according to a Telegram post. It is not clear exactly which places Shoigu visited and whether they were on the territory of Ukraine.
Putin said that Russia will supply Belarus with missiles capable of carrying a nuclear charge
“In the coming months, we will transfer Iskander-M tactical missile systems to Belarus, which, as you know, can use both ballistic and cruise missiles, both in conventional and nuclear versions,” Putin said to Lukashenko. .
In the transcript of the meeting, Lukashenka expressed to Putin his “stress” and concerns about what he said are flights by US and NATO aircraft “training to carry nuclear warheads” near the Belarusian border.
Lukashenko has asked Putin to consider a “mirror response” to flying or re-equipping the Russian Su-35 fighter jets currently stationed in Belarus so that “they can carry nuclear warheads.”
Putin responded that while it is possible to match US flights, “it is not necessary” and suggested that the Belarusian armed forces have a large number of Su-25 aircraft that could be converted to nuclear instead.
According to Janes Defense, the Iskander-M is a Russian short-range ballistic missile system that can carry conventional or nuclear warheads with a maximum range of up to 500 km (310 miles).
G7 announced a ban on the import of Russian gold
Biden tweeted Sunday in Germany: “The United States has imposed unprecedented costs on Putin to deprive him of the income he needs to finance the war against Ukraine. Together, the G7 will announce that we will ban the import of Russian gold, a major export that brings Russia tens of billions of dollars.”
Biden also noted the unity of the G7 and NATO regarding Ukraine and the Russian invasion, telling German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that the G7 and NATO would stay together and not “split.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the price of allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to “continue with his program of conquest” is much higher than the current price.
“The price of retreat, the price of allowing Putin to succeed, cut off huge parts of Ukraine, continue his program of conquest, that price will be much, much higher. Everyone here understands that,” Johnson said in his speech. interview on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Germany.
CNN Ellie MalloyMaria Knight, Johnny Hallam, Josh Pennington, Til Rebane contributed to this report.
