Aftermath of Russian strike on Kyiv, Dec 20. (Image: Getty)
Russia unleashed with residential and office buildings, a hotel, and the Portuguese embassy in Kyiv damaged in the attacks.
Multiple districts across sustained damage, as incoming missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian air defences.
According to ’s air force, also fired 60 drones overnight, though 20 were shot down before reaching their targets, as per .
Lisbon condemned the strikes and said several other diplomatic missions in the same buildings had been damaged in the strikes, including those of Argentina, Albania and Montenegro, AFP reports.
Portugal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the charge d’affaires of the Russian Federation to be presented with a formal protest, the government said.
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At least one person was killed in Kyiv as missiles stuck various towns and cities in Ukraine. (Image: Getty)
Russia had fired 60 drones against Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces said. (Image: Getty)
Speaking to local media, Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said: “There was a very intense attack by the Russian Federation on the city of Kyiv, and one of the explosions caused relatively light material damage to the diplomatic facilities of several countries, including the chancery of the Portuguese embassy.”
Rangel said it is “absolutely unacceptable for attacks to damage or target diplomatic facilities”.
“For the time being, this is the position that the Republic must take with the Russian Federation,” he continued.
“Other steps will be taken at another level a little later,” he added in response to a question about a possible European reaction to the strikes.”
[REPORT]
Air raid sirens rang out around Kyiv at around 6.40am local time, with the Russian army believed to have fired Iskander-M ballistic missiles, North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles and Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles.
At least one man was killed, and several people hospitalised after a ballistic missile struck a business centre in the heart of the city.
confirmed the first casualty at 8.30am local time.
The evening before the strikes, Putin had boasted in his annual call-in of how ‘s ballistic missiles could get past the city’s formidable air defence systems.
Moscow announced after that the missile barrage was in retaliation for an earlier attack by in Rostov, .