Russia breaks calm with Kyiv attacks, Mariupol rescue effort under way

As an effort to rescue the roughly 100,000 Ukrainians that are believed to be trapped in Mariupol started, Russia broke what had been weeks of relative calm in Kyiv with a barrage of attacks on the capital city. The video above includes clips from the attacks. The series of strikes was the largest in Kyiv since Russian forces retreated following their failure to take the city.

Thursday’s attacks targeted a residential high-rise and another building. U.S.-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said one of its journalists was killed.

The attacks were also notable because they came barely an hour after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a news conference with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. The video above includes a clip from the news conference. Guterres also toured some of the destruction in and around Kyiv and condemned attacks on civilians.

“As we keep pushing for a full-scale ceasefire we’ll also keep striving for immediate, practical steps to save lives and reduce human suffering,” Guterres said Thursday. “Effective humanitarian corridors, local cessations of hostilities, safe passage for civilian and supply routes.”

After the Kyiv attacks, Ukrainian leaders expressed anger at the timing of them.

“This says a lot about Russia’s true attitude towards global institutions, about attempts of Russian authorities to humiliate U.N. and everything that the organization represents,” Zelenskyy said Thursday night. On Friday, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko added that the attacks were Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “greeting” to Guterres.

“Mr. Putin showed his middle finger by firing and destroying our homes,” Klitschko said. “Putin’s goal is not buildings, his goal is people’s lives, but we will endure.”

While the attacks shifted the attention to Kyiv, part of the U.N. effort in Ukraine was to rescue Ukrainians who are still stuck in Mariupol over a week after Russia declared victory in the city. Previous evacuation attempts in Mariupol have failed.

“Mariupol is a crisis within a crisis. Thousands of civilians need lifesaving assistance. Many are elderly in need of medical care or have limited mobility,” Guterres said Thursday. “They need an escape route out of the apocalypse.”