Russia strikes Kyiv and Kharkiv: restaurant and clinic hit, 11 hurt

On Saturday at around 2:00 p.m. local time, 1:00 p.m. in Czechia, Russia launched a ballistic missile strike on Kyiv and attacked Kharkiv with drones. A restaurant in Kyiv’s Obolon district and a clinic in Kharkiv were hit, and at least 11 people were wounded. Energy infrastructure in Kyiv and its surroundings was damaged.

Strike on a restaurant in Kyiv

“Russia has attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles. In broad daylight, on a sunny weekend, when people are out and about doing ordinary things,” wrote Anton Gerashchenko, a former Ukrainian deputy interior minister, on the social network X. According to the Kyiv Independent, powerful explosions rang out in Kyiv on Saturday at around 2:00 p.m., and the capital was under the highest level of air-raid alert.

A missile hit a restaurant in the Obolon district in the north of the city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. A fire broke out in the restaurant. According to Klitschko, rescuers found seven wounded people, five of whom were taken to hospital. The condition of three of those hospitalised is very serious.

A clinic in Kharkiv and power outages

During the day Russia also attacked a medical facility in Kharkiv. A drone strike on the clinic wounded four people, including a rescue worker, Reuters reported. Molniya and Banderol drones destroyed several consulting rooms.

Russian strikes also damaged energy infrastructure in Kyiv and its surroundings. Part of the city was left without electricity, and there were problems with the water supply. Metro trains and escalators stopped. The metro later resumed operation, but trains are running at longer intervals. Power outages were also reported in the Bucha district of the Kyiv region.

Background: the Trump–Putin deal

Just a few hours earlier, a Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia killed at least 17 people, including three children. The search for people under the rubble of the destroyed buildings is not yet over.

More intense Russian strikes on Ukraine began only a day after US President Donald Trump announced an agreement with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on supplying Russian diesel fuel to world markets, and the American administration eased the related sanctions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with other critics, warned that revenue from fuel sales would fund Moscow’s war.

“Every next billion dollars that Russia manages to earn from exports will be spent precisely on obtaining and importing critically important components and equipment for weapons production, upgrading Shaheds, producing missiles and recruiting new soldiers,” Zelensky said.

Read also: 9 Michelin-starred restaurants in Czechia: where to find fine dining from Prague to Moravia

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz