Smoke rising over Darnytskyi District of Kyiv, Ukraine on April 16. Photo: Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Russian forces launched attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and the rest of the country on Saturday in a stark reminder of Moscow's continued military threat to the whole country, AP reports.
Driving the news: Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported a strike on the city's Darnytski district on Saturday, where rescuers and paramedics are at the scene. Information on the potential death toll would be provided later, he said. Residents who fled earlier in the war should not return for their safety, he said, per AP.
The big picture: The renewed strikes come after Russia this week said the "main goal" of the war is "to help people" in the eastern part of Ukraine, underscoring Moscow's focus on the Donbas region.
- The military command warned Friday of the possibility of attacks on Ukraine’s capital and said it was targeting military sites, per AP.
- Russian forces also targeted eastern Ukraine on Saturday, where an explosion believed to be caused by a missile hit Kharkiv, according to AP reporters at the scene.
- The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine also reported airstrikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft from Belarus.
- Fighting also continued in the southern port city of Mariupol. A shelling in the northeastern city of Kharkiv killed at least seven people.
State of play: More than 900 civilians' bodies were found in the Kyiv region alone this week after Russia forces withdrew, a regional police chief said Friday.
- "Consequently, we understand that under the [Russian] occupation, people were simply executed in the streets," said Andriy Nebytov, the head of Kyiv’s regional police force.
Go deeper ... Dashboard: Russian invasion of Ukraine