Russia calls Kyiv strike payback for a Ukrainian ATACMS attack

Olesia Safronova, Bloomberg News on Jan 18, 2025

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Russia’s defense ministry said a missile strike that killed four people in Kyiv overnight came in response to a Ukrainian attack earlier in the week using U.S.-made ATACMS tactical missiles.

On Friday, the ministry vowed retaliation after saying that Ukraine’s forces fired six of projectiles at unspecified “facilities” in the Belgorod region near the nations’ border. Ukraine didn’t confirm use of the weapons.

At least four people were killed and three others wounded from a ballistic missile strike early Saturday in central Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the entrance to a major subway station and a water-supply pipeline were been damaged. A McDonald’s fast food restaurant was also struck. The strike was a few kilometers (miles) from Kyiv’s presidential palace.

Russia’s defense ministry said it targeted a rocket manufacturer and that “all objectives” had been achieved.

The strikes follow deadly attacks this week on the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih — Zelenskyy’s hometown — and the bombardment of western Ukrainian regions. Those strikes triggered nationwide preventive power cuts and prompted neighboring Poland to scramble military jets.

Two out of four ballistic missiles and 24 of 39 drones were shot down across the country overnight, according to Ukrainian air defense forces. At least 10 people were wounded in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.

Separately, Ukraine’s special operations forces targeted an oil facility serving Russia’s military near Lyudinovo in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, according to the General Staff. The claim can’t be independently verified.

Firefighters also tackled a blaze that started when fuels and lubricants ignited at an industrial facility in the Tula region to Kaluga’s east caused by falling drone fragments, Tass reported, citing regional Gov. Dmitry Milyayev. Five UAVs attacked the region, according to the state-run news service.

Overall, Russia’s defense ministry said 83 unmanned vehicles had been shot down in the previous 24 hours. Both sides are increasingly on combat drones to impart damage.

The latest uptick in hostilities comes two days ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president. Trump has vowed to bring a swift end to the war, although it’s unclear how he’ll achieve a settlement between Moscow and Kyiv.