Russians killed three people in ballistic strike on central Kyiv
Date:18 January 2025
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Four people have been killed in a Russian air strike on Kyiv overnight, BBC News reported.
A previous air raid had just ended when another was activated at 6:00 am (04:00 GMT), with authorities warning of a ballistic missile threat and urging residents to head for shelter.
The city’s mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said windows were shattered in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, including at a metro station, and a fire broke out in a non-residential building. It is not clear what was targeted.
At the scene, there is a large crater in the road outside a business centre, a tall glass tower which is itself very badly damaged by a next missile or very large fragment.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, reported that three people were killed in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district in the Russian attack – two men aged 43 and 25, and a woman, 41. Three more people received medical assistance on site.
Windows were shattered in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, including at a metro station Lukianivka, and a fire broke out in a non-residential building, Klitschko, said. It is not clear what was targeted. Everything around it – including the local McDonald’s – has been similarly damaged.
A nearby dental clinic has been all but destroyed in the blast. Inside, staff are picking through the shattered glass and the mess, recovering what they can.
A disused business centre has been very badly damaged at Lukianivka metro station in the Ukrainian capital
It is the second fatal attack on Kyiv this month,following a strike on the Ukrainian capital on New Year’s Day that left two people dead.
Meanwhile, in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, the local authorities say 11 people were wounded in a Russian strike on the morning of January 18. One woman is said to be in a serious condition. Moreover, the body of a man has been retrieved from under the rubble. Another person is still trapped under the collapsed building, as the State Emergency Service reported.
Russians also damaged St Andrew’s Cathedral, an Orthodox church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Zaporizhzhia, in that attack. The cathedral’s ceiling completely collapsed. Its priest said to the local news agency RIA-Pivden that two people were inside the cathedral during the explosion, but neither was injured.
ZMINA consistently reports on ongoing international crimes in the Kyiv Oblast.
By way of background, during his Januray 17, 2025press conference, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the new White House administration, headed by Donald Trump, has the necessary prerequisites to help Ukraine conclude a good deal to end Russia’s war against Ukrainian People and establish a lasting peace.
Blinken emphasised that any good deal must include a sustainable ceasefire that prevents Putin from resting, rearming, and resuming aggression. The current administration has discussed various approaches with European partners and shared them with Trump’s team.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy linked potential peace negotiations with security guarantees in his interview with Polish media, warning that Russia could rebuild its strength and attack again without reliable guarantees to Kyiv.
He emphasised that Trump must offer Ukraine specific security guarantees that would not only benefit Europe but also send a signal to Russia that Ukrainians, alongside other nations, will be able to defend themselves if Putin attempts to incite war again.
The Ukrainian president called for increased EU arms production “for itself” to demonstrate Europe’s defensive capabilities and “hit Putin where it hurts.”
Zelenskyy also expressed his full support for ending the war through diplomatic means.
He continued, highlighting the broader implications of Russia’s actions:
“Everyone already understands that Russia is the enemy, and they are capable of attacking any European country and occupying it. They have the strength and the will to do it. Yes, they are sick, but the main question is whether Russia will be able to come back again, occupy another country, or come up with something else. Or open the possibility of nuclear war. We must make it impossible for Putin and Russia to take such steps,” the Ukrainian president explained.
Zelenskyy referenced the period between 2014 and 2022, when Russia used a ceasefire to prepare for further occupation.
Previously, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybihain an interview for the European Pravda news outlet assured that Kyiv’s position regarding the aspiration to join NATO is firm. He reminded the audience that the course towards NATO membership has long been enshrined in the Constitution, and a convincing majority of Ukrainian society supports Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
According to the results of a sociological survey published by the New Europe Center and conducted by the Info Sapiens agency, 31.3% of Ukrainians consider the development of nuclear weapons to be the best guarantee of the country’s security, , while 29.3% of respondents support joining NATO.
Also, according to the survey, Ukrainians consider the following to be the best security guarantees:
Ukraine developing nuclear weapons – 31.3% of respondents;
Joining NATO (without control over part of the territories) – 29.3%;
A defense alliance with the United States, including the possibility of deploying US troops in Ukraine – 11.2%;
UN peacekeepers – 8.9%;
Deployment of European troops in Ukraine – 6.4%;
Difficult to say – 12.9%.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Ruttewarned the European Parliament committee on January 13 that the current 2% defense spending target falls short of ensuring allies’ safety in the coming four to five years.
Rutte stressed that allies must urgently invest more in defence and defence production, improve process efficiency and strengthen the resilience of their societies and critical infrastructure in order to protect their people and way of life.
“To stay safe in the years to come, allies will need to spend considerably more than 2% […] Spending more on defence means spending less on other priorities. But it can make a big difference for our future,” he said.
In the meantime, a BSW party leader Sahra Wagenknecht spread pro-Russian narratives at her party’s “pre-election” congress in Bonn on January 12, calling for an end to arms supplies to Ukraine, lifting of sanctions, and increased cooperation with Russia.
Wagenknecht presented her “Our country deserves more” election programme, a 39-page document promoting social promises and economic recovery through cheap Russian gas. She falsely claimed that sanctions against Russia “have nothing to do with the war and have zero effect” and “have nothing to do with morality.”
The party demands:
Stopping German arms supplies to Ukraine
Negotiations over Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories
Organizing referendums in occupied areas
Ukraine’s readiness for compromises
Alternative für Deutschland party leader Alice Weidel pledged to restore nuclear power plants and resume Nord Stream pipeline operations if she gains power, according to NTV.
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, in an interview for the Civil Network OPORA, stated that Western countries lack the political will to confront Russia and are doing so with Ukrainian hands. Moreover, they do not even believe that Russia will attack them in the future. He emphasized that for EU countries, security is not a value but rather a comfort of life and the Zeitenwende has not shifted the mentality of German society. Klimkin is convinced that [Russian ruler Vladimir] “Putin and his entourage sense this weakness at an instinctual level”.