Zelenskyy says Russia fired three cluster-warhead missiles at Kyiv

By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press

ANKARA, TURKEY — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia fired three ballistic missiles carrying cluster warheads at Kyiv overnight into October 22, with one striking a historic area of the capital.

According to Zelenskyy, the missile landed between the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and St. Vvedensky Monastery in the Pechersk district. Monastery buildings, homes, shops and cafés were damaged. Ukrainian officials said the type of warhead used posed a danger to people across a broad area.

Zelenskyy reports three cluster-warhead missiles

Zelenskyy said three ballistic missiles with cluster warheads were used against Kyiv during the overnight attack. He identified Pechersk, part of the capital’s historic center, as the location where one of them struck.

Serhiy Beskrestnov, an adviser to Zelenskyy on technology, said an Iskander ballistic missile fitted with a K5 cluster warhead had been used. His identification of the missile and warhead is based on the Ukrainian authorities’ assessment following the strike.

A cluster warhead releases smaller explosive elements over an area. Beskrestnov said the warhead he identified opens above the ground, placing people and vehicles nearby at risk. The available statements do not establish that every person injured across Kyiv was hit by this particular missile.

Monastery and nearby civilian buildings damaged

Zelenskyy said the missile struck between the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and St. Vvedensky Monastery. He reported damage to monastery buildings, residential properties, shops, cafés and other civilian infrastructure in the surrounding area.

Beskrestnov said four people at the monastery were injured. That figure refers specifically to those he identified at the religious site and is separate from the citywide casualty count released by emergency officials.

Authorities were assessing damage at multiple locations in Kyiv after the attack. The statements available so far do not assign every damaged building in the capital to the missile that struck Pechersk.

Emergency officials report casualties across Kyiv

In a preliminary report on the morning of October 22, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said one person had been killed and 22 people injured in the overnight attacks on Kyiv. Four of those injured were children.

The figures cover the attacks across the city. Officials did not say that the person killed, or all 22 injured people, were casualties of the strike near the monastery. The preliminary toll may change as rescue work and medical assessments continue.

The distinction matters because Kyiv was hit in more than one location. The damage reported in Pechersk and the wider casualty figures describe different parts of the same night’s attacks.

Ukrainian officials question the choice of weapon and location

Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately choosing both the cluster warhead and the area where it was used. He said there was no military facility nearby and argued that the weapon created a risk of widespread harm to civilians.

Beskrestnov also said he believed the strike on the historic district had no military purpose. These are the Ukrainian officials’ assessments of the attack’s intent. No independent investigation establishing all the circumstances of the strike has been presented in the available reporting.

The reported use of a cluster warhead has drawn particular attention because its smaller explosive elements can affect places beyond a single point of impact. The confirmed extent of the damage and injuries attributable to that missile remains subject to assessment.

Attacks continue in other parts of Ukraine

Zelenskyy said attacks continued elsewhere in Ukraine on October 22. He reported that an urban train was struck in Kharkiv and named Dnipro, Marhanets, Mykolaiv and Kherson among the places targeted. He also referred to attacks on settlements in several Ukrainian regions.

The president separately addressed damage to the country’s energy system. According to his figures, important energy facilities across Ukraine have recorded more than 170 hits since October 11. That number concerns the national energy infrastructure over that period; it is not a count of missiles fired at Kyiv overnight.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian air defenses had intercepted many attack drones and some missiles, while calling for faster delivery of defense packages already agreed by international partners. He instructed Ukrainian government and military officials to brief those partners on the current threats and the country’s air defense needs.

WiseNewsPress.com