Russia shattered weeks of relative peace in the Ukrainian capital by firing long-range missiles toward Kyiv early on Monday morning, in what appears to be a Kremlin show of power as Western leaders meet in Europe to bolster Ukraine's military and economic backing.
At least two residential structures were struck by missiles, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, and according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a 37-year-old man was killed along with his 7-year-old daughter and wife.
The hits also harmed a nearby kindergarten, whose courtyard was poked by a crater. After arriving in Germany for a Group of Seven summit, U.S. President Joe Biden labeled the attacks "barbaric."
Journalists from the Associated Press witnessed firefighters battling flames and rescuing citizens.
Later on Sunday, a local official informed the Unian news agency of a second fatality, stating that a train worker was murdered and numerous others were injured while servicing rail infrastructure during the attacks.
The first air-launched weapons to effectively hit the capital since June 5 were KH-101 cruise missiles fired from aircraft over the Caspian Sea, more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away, the spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, Yuriy Ignat said.
The mayor of Kyiv told journalists that he believed the airstrikes were "perhaps a symbolic attack" ahead of Tuesday's NATO summit in Madrid.
A former commander of U.S. forces in Europe stated that the strikes were also a message to the G-7 leaders meeting in Germany on Sunday.
"Russia said that they can do this all day. And that we are incapable of stopping them," former U.S. Army forces in Europe commanding general, retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, stated.
New restrictions on Russian gold imports were due to be announced by the G-7 leaders as the latest in a long line of international economic measures to squeeze and isolate Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Standing with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the three-day meeting's host, Biden said of the missile strikes on Kyiv: "It's more of their savagery."
In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy pleaded with the G7 leaders for greater assistance, stating that stopping Russian aggression "is only possible if we receive all we ask for, and when we need it - weaponry, financial assistance, and sanctions against Russia."
Oleksandr Goncharenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, stated on the messaging app Telegram that preliminary evidence showed that Russia launched 14 missiles against the capital region and the city of Kiev.
