KYIV — Russian strikes on Ukraine’s capital killed at least four people and wounded more than a dozen others, local officials said Saturday, after Kyiv’s mayor warned of a ballistic missile attack. It comes after the United Nations found June was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since April 2022, as Moscow ramped up its long-range strikes on towns and cities across Ukraine. Kyiv’s military administration said the strikes had killed four people, and the city’s mayor reported 15 people, including two boys aged 13 and 17, were wounded and transported to hospital. “Explosions in the city. Kyiv is under ballistic missile attack. Stay in shelters!” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote earlier on Telegram. AFP journalists also reported hearing explosions. More than 10 explosions were heard in a row, the journalists reported, adding that the intensity of the blasts triggered car alarms on the streets. Ukraine, meanwhile, has escalated its retaliatory strikes on Russia in recent months, partly to pressure Moscow to the negotiating table after nearly four-and-a-half years of war. Russian online retail giant Wildberries said Friday its logistics facility in Volgograd caught fire after an overnight attack -- the latest in a series of strikes on the company’s facilities. Kyiv has accused the e-commerce giant -- which employs thousands of people and has become a key part of the economy -- of storing drone parts and helping the Russian army. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump this week for talks, as Kyiv and Moscow carried out long-range strikes. Zelensky said following the meeting that Trump had agreed to license the production of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, but the US president only said that “many things were discussed” and “the meeting went very well!”
