Russian Missiles Rain Down On Kyiv Following Zelensky's Meeting With UN Chief

Ukraine put its central and western regions on high alert Friday after Russian rockets pounded the capital Kyiv, killing at least one individual and damaging residential buildings after the visit of the United Nations chief to the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a video message, denounced the aerial attack Thursday near the center of Kyiv following his meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Zelensky called the recent attack a sign of "Russia's true attitude to global institutions" and warned that it would provoke "a strong response."

On Twitter, Oleksii Renznikov, Ukraine's defense minister, criticized Russia's attacks.

Ukraine's head of state claimed his country's troops were keeping off Russia's intended assault in the south and east amid efforts to ensure safe evacuation for the people of Mariupol. This crucial coastal city has been reduced to ruins after a two-month siege.

Russia Confirms Its Attack on Kyiv; NATO Members Gear Up

On Thursday, Russia bombarded sites around Ukraine, including a residential high-rise and another structure in Kyiv, per CBS News. One body was discovered in the ruins of the bombing, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Ukraine's emergency services reported that ten people sustained injuries, with at least one losing a leg.

As Ukraine confirmed heavy damages from Russia's attack in the east but stated the invader's deaths were "colossal," Moscow divulged that it launched an airstrike on Kyiv during a visit by UN Secretary-General Guterres, as per a report from The Guardian.

In a daily briefing in Moscow on Friday, Russia's defense ministry said two "high-precision, long-range air-based weapons" had destroyed the Artyom missile and space enterprise's production buildings in Kyiv on Thursday night.

Following the Russian strikes, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg asserted Thursday there is a "need to be prepared for the long term."

Stoltenberg's declaration came after US President Joe Biden announced his intention to seek Congress' approval of the additional $33 billion assistance for Ukraine.

"There is absolutely the possibility that this war will drag on and last for months and years," Stoltenberg warned.

The British government announced on Friday that it would deploy 8,000 troops to Eastern Europe for extensive drills this summer to counter Russian aggression. The deployment is one of the country's biggest since the Cold War, including training with thousands of troops from NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force coalition, which includes Finland and Sweden.

Recently, the two non-NATO countries received a recommendation that their membership would be expedited if they filed a petition to join the alliance.

Ex-US Marine Killed In Ukraine

Meanwhile, ABC News reported that Willy Joseph Cancel, a US citizen, was killed in Ukraine while fighting alongside the Ukrainian military against invading Russian forces.

According to his wife, Brittany Cancel, the 22-year-old former U.S. Marine "was eager to volunteer" to help people when he learned about the war in Ukraine as he felt that it was his "main mission in life."

"My husband was very brave and a hero," according to the widow's statement.

Cancel worked as a correctional officer in Kentucky before heading to Ukraine. According to his wife, he also aspired to serve as a police officer or a firefighter.

Later on Friday, State Department spokesman Ned Price told MSNBC that the department is "in the process of reaching out to the family" to acquire more information and determine how the government would be able "to best support the family."

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NATO, United Nations, Russia, Ukraine, Uk