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EU's Kyiv base damaged in Russian drone attack, Commission says

Eu's Kyiv Base Damaged In Russian Drone Attack, Commission Says
Local residents look on as Ukrainian rescuers conduct a search and rescue operation in and around a residential building heavily damaged during a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv that killed at least 10 people. Photo: PA
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Russia's overnight drone and missile attack on Ukraine's capital damaged the EU delegation's building in the city, the EU Commission said on Thursday.

The delegation's staff were safe, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. She called on Russia to stop its "indiscriminatory attacks on civilian infrastructure and join negotiations for a just and lasting peace".

The Russian attack killed 10 people in other parts of the city, wounded 38 and damaged buildings across seven districts, Ukrainian officials said.

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EU Commissioner Marta Kos said the EU building had been damaged during strikes on civilian areas.

"I strongly condemn these brutal attacks, a clear sign that Russia rejects peace and chooses terror. Our full solidarity goes to EU staff, their families, and all Ukrainians enduring this aggression."

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the overnight attack, which also killed a child, showed the world Russia's answer to diplomacy amid efforts by US President Donald Trump to end the war.

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"Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table," Zelensky said on X, calling for new sanctions on Russia. "It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war."

Kyiv city authorities reported at least 38 injuries as the search and rescue operations were underway, with emergency services putting out the fires and sifting through the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Explosions lit up the night sky in the capital during the air alert, which lasted for over nine hours, with clouds of smoke covering the sky as drones buzzed overhead.

Ukrainian air force said it downed 563 of 598 drones and 26 of 31 missiles launched by Russia in a country-wide attack.

The Air Force recorded hits at 13 locations and debris falling at 26 locations.

"Unfortunately, the Russians' style is typical in their attacks," Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, wrote on Telegram.

"Combined strikes, from different directions. And systematic, targeting ordinary residential buildings."

Russia, which denies targeting civilians, has stepped up air strikes in recent months on Ukrainian towns and cities far from the front lines of the war.

Ukrainian officials listed numerous buildings that had suffered damage, including several high-rise apartment blocks.

In Darnytskyi district, an eastern suburb, a five-storey building had been partly destroyed, Tkachenko said, and rescue teams were searching the rubble for trapped residents.

Emergency crews are tackling the aftermath of the attacks at more than 20 sites in the capital, he said.

Separately, Moscow's Defence Ministry said that Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 102 Ukrainian drones overnight, which had targeted at least seven regions.

In the overnight attack, Ukraine's forces attacked Afipsky and Kuybyshevskyi oil refineries, according to the Ukrainian drone forces commander.

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