Russia conducts massive strike on Ukraine

The Russian military carried out a series of missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian military targets, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday, reported Xinhua.

Russia launched 600 drones and 90 missiles in the overnight attack, primarily targeting Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post on Sunday.

Ukrainian authorities said four people were killed and at least 83 people were injured in the attack, while residential buildings, shops, educational institutions and medical facilities were damaged.

According to Russian Defence ministry, the strike was in retaliation for Ukraine's "attacks against civilian targets on Russian territory." Russia's attacks involved Oreshnik ballistic missiles, Iskander air-launched ballistic missiles, Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles, Tsirkon cruise missiles, as well as air-, sea-, and ground-based cruise missiles and attack drones.

It hit command sites, airbases and defense-industrial enterprises.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry said 21 people died in a Ukrainian drone attack on a college dormitory in the Luhansk region on Friday.

Kiev denied responsibility, saying its forces strike only military facilities and objects used for military purposes in accordance with international humanitarian law.

News agency dpa adds: The TV studio used by correspondents for German public broadcaster ARD in the Ukrainian capital Kiev was badly damaged in the massive overnight Russian attacks, ARD's affiliate broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) in Cologne said on Sunday.

A blast wave from the Russian attacks likely caused destruction in the centrally located studio. Windows were shattered, rooms were devastated and walls collapsed, the WDR said in a statement. No one was in the studio at the time of the attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the studio is located in the building of the National Art Museum which was damaged in the attacks. "The structural safety of the building must now be checked," the WDR said. Reporting would continue backed by "mobile technical solutions and alternative options."

"Torn-out window frames, splinters everywhere, destroyed equipment - seeing your own workplace completely devastated is a shock," said Kiev ARD studio head Vassili Golod. His team would not be intimidated by the Russian attacks, he said.

WDR Director-General Katrin Vernau said she was "very relieved that our staff were not injured in this attack," according to the statement. Reporting would continue even under the dangerous conditions and the state of emergency "so that people in Germany get the most important information from Ukraine first-hand".