The latest in a litany of unexplained fires in Russia broke out on on Thursday, engulfing a warehouse just four miles away from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residency.
As of midnight in Moscow the fire had spread to over 21,500 square feet in Odintsovo, west of Moscow,, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
The incident adds to over 100 significant unexplained fires on Russian territory since the invasion of Ukraine, and is the second in as many days.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has reported that fragments of a hypersonic missile struck a children’s hospital in Kyiv on Friday morning.
A view shows a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine August 10, 2023.
REUTERS/VIACHESLAV RATYNSKYI
Residents heard four explosions across the city, as air defences are believed to have limited the full extent of the missiles.
The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, posted on Telegram: “Fragments of a rocket fell on the territory of one of the capital’s children’s hospitals.
“There were no injuries or damage. Emergency services are on the scene.”
The missile attack follows a Russian air strike on the Reikartz Hotel in Zaporizhzhia at 7.20pm local time on Thursday.
People walk past to the body of Nataliia Tereshchenko, a 66-year-old teacher who was killed during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine August 10, 2023.
REUTERS/ANDRII DUBCHAK
National police said an Iskander missile hit the hotel on the bank of the Dnipro River, leaving one person dead and 16 more injured including four children.
The Ukraine defence ministry posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The Reikartz hotel in Zaporizhzhia, which was hit by a missile attack by Russian terrorists today, is the site of a children’s day camp for kids aged 6 to 13.”
The hotel is also known to be frequently used by journalists, UN and NGO personnel.
The Russian defence ministry claimed that the strike targeted “foreign mercenaries” in the area.
UKRAINE WAR LATEST:
Smoke rises from a fire in the aftermath of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, in this still image obtained from a video published by the official Telegram account of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on August 9, 2023.
TELEGRAM/V_ZELENSKIY_OFFICIAL/REUTERS
While details of the strike were unfolding on Thursday night, US President Joe Biden implored Congress for a further $24 billion (£18.9 billion) to assist in delivering humanitarian, economic and security aid to Ukraine.
If given the green light, the increase would take the country’s total aid contribution to Ukraine to more than $113billion (£88.75billion) since the war began.
On Friday, in the western Ukrainian region of Ivano-Frankivsk, an eight-year-old boy was killed by a Russian missile, the regional governor said.
Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk wrote on Telegram: “There are wounded including a child who was brought to hospital in critical condition. Medics did everything possible, but unfortunately the child’s life could not be saved.”