Kyiv under fire. Russia's midnight missile attack stokes chaos with reported 25 injuries
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, provided information about the situation in the city via social media. According to doctors in the Dnipro area, there have been 25 reported injuries. "13 people have been hospitalized, while medical aid was provided to 12 on the spot," said Klitschko.
7:58 AM EST, December 13, 2023
"In the Dnipro area, four cars were ablaze in the yard of a residential building. A balcony was on fire and the facade was damaged. Firefighters are on the scene and we have commenced the evacuation of residents," reported the mayor of Kyiv on Telegram.
In the Darnytskyi district, there are also reports of fires. A correspondent for the Polish Press Agency in central Kyiv heard loud explosions, likely due to air defense activity, just before 10:00 PM ET (9:00 PM Polish local time). Sirens echoed through the city soon after, but the alarm was lifted at 10:37 PM ET.
Russia's losses mounting
Declassified U.S. intelligence data indicate that Russia's casualties in the war with Ukraine total around 315 thousand killed or injured. This figure is nearly 90 percent of the military personnel Russia initially deployed to Ukraine, as reported by Reuters on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian army has inflicted significant personal losses and so much destruction to armored vehicles that it has rolled back the modernization of Russia's military by 18 years, a source familiar with the details of the U.S. intelligence report told Reuters.
In early December, the British Defense Ministry reported that from the start of the aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, until November of the same year, the total estimated Russian casualties were approximately 70 thousand killed and 220-280 thousand injured.
