Russia’s Kyiv hospital attack has renewed concerns about Ukraine’s air defences after a Russian drone struck a major medical facility in central Kyiv, injuring three people amid renewed disruptions to a satellite communications system used by Ukrainian forces.
The attack happened at approximately 3am on Friday, when a drone hit the second floor of the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics. The strike also damaged an adjoining 19th-century building, leaving parts of the area covered in debris and shattered glass.
The six-storey hospital is located in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, close to the Danish and Romanian embassies. The surrounding neighbourhood includes cafes, residential buildings and a park popular with dog walkers.
The explosion blew out windows in nearby buildings, including the National Academy of Arts situated across the road. Residents were startled by the blast, while emergency workers rushed to the scene to evacuate patients and contain the resulting fire.
Three injured as patients are evacuated
Smoke billowed from the damaged building as firefighters worked to extinguish the flames. Emergency personnel also helped dazed patients leave the hospital, with images from the scene showing a woman with a bandaged head and blood on her face.
Another image showed a paramedic attending to a woman with an injured leg. Medical workers faced the difficult task of ensuring patients received assistance while clearing the affected sections of the facility.
Hospital director Roman Derkach said medical services had been temporarily suspended while emergency teams carried out cleanup operations. He added that 30 patients were evacuated from the building following the attack.
Three people were injured in the incident, although the available report did not provide further details about the severity of their injuries.
A witness identified as Oleksandr described the frightening experience, explaining that residents were asleep when the explosion occurred.
“We were asleep when there was this massive boom. We all jumped out of bed straight away. There was glass all over the floor. People were running about … If it had hit a little further to the left it would have been much worse. We felt the shock wave,” he said.
Oleksandr condemned the decision to strike a medical facility, particularly one treating injured people.
“Targeting the wounded – that’s really low. Russia attacks everything. Where I live, high-rise blocks are being constantly hit by bombs. They don’t care where they drop them, or where they land,” he added.
The Kyiv hospital strike has once again highlighted the danger facing civilians and essential public facilities as Russian attacks continue across Ukraine.
Starshield disruptions raise questions about Ukraine’s air defences
The hospital attack came amid renewed difficulties affecting a satellite communications system used by Ukraine’s military.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Starshield, a system operated by SpaceX and overseen by the Pentagon, was experiencing significant disruptions again.
The latest interruption followed an unexplained slowdown reported the previous month. The renewed disruption has raised concerns about the reliability of communications infrastructure supporting Ukraine’s military operations.
Some Russian aerial attacks reportedly succeeded because Ukrainian interceptor systems, which rely on the American satellite service, could not operate at the speed required to destroy incoming drones.
Starshield is described as the Ukrainian military’s version of Starlink, the satellite internet system developed by SpaceX. Its importance to Ukraine’s defence operations has made any interruption particularly consequential.
The White House had not explained why the service had been throttled for a second time, leaving questions about the circumstances surrounding the disruption.
The incident also comes at a sensitive moment in diplomatic efforts to end the war, with the United States leading renewed negotiations and President Donald Trump appearing to pressure Kyiv into considering territorial concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump emissaries meet Putin as negotiations continue
Trump’s representatives, Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer, met Putin in Moscow on Thursday.
The two American emissaries subsequently travelled to Dublin, where they were expected to brief Zelenskyy on their discussions with the Russian leader.
Their visit followed trilateral negotiations held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, as Washington continued its efforts to bring the conflict towards a settlement.
However, the Kremlin’s demands remain a major obstacle to an agreement. Russian negotiators are insisting that Ukraine surrender four provinces, including cities and villages that Russian forces have failed to capture.
Moscow is also demanding a new security arrangement in Europe that would effectively return NATO to its pre-1997 position, before several eastern European countries joined the alliance.
Russia has consistently opposed European involvement in the negotiations being brokered by Washington, a position that has increased tensions between Moscow and several European capitals.
Macron insists Europe must participate in Ukraine negotiations
French President Emmanuel Macron argued on Thursday that European countries must have a place in any negotiations concerning Ukraine’s future and the wider security of the continent.
His comments reflected growing concern in Europe over the direction of American diplomacy and the possibility that decisions affecting European security could be reached without sufficient European participation.
“Without Europeans, there is no support for Ukraine,” Macron said.
He further insisted that European governments must determine their own security arrangements rather than depend entirely on decisions taken by Washington.
“At the end of the day, we will be the ones to define and decide for our future security as Europeans,” he added.
Macron’s intervention came as European leaders continued to express concern about the prospect of Ukraine being pressured into surrendering territory as part of a peace agreement.
Russian attacks leave 12 Ukrainian regions without power
Separately, overnight Russian strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure caused power outages in 12 regions, adding to the pressure on the country’s electricity network.
The affected areas were Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Rivne, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and Chernihiv.
The attacks have complicated efforts to maintain electricity supplies as repair teams work to restore damaged infrastructure.
Ukraine’s deputy energy minister, Artem Nekrasov, said workers were making efforts to repair affected facilities despite continuing Russian attacks and security difficulties.
“Energy workers are working at an intensified pace, but new attacks and constant air raid alerts are complicating and delaying repairs,” he said.
The latest developments underline the multiple challenges confronting Ukraine: protecting civilians from aerial attacks, maintaining critical infrastructure and sustaining its military capabilities while diplomatic negotiations continue.
With Russia continuing to target cities and energy facilities, the renewed disruption to Starshield has added another concern for Kyiv as it attempts to defend its territory and navigate pressure for a negotiated settlement.
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