Russian ballistic missile attack in Kyiv damages Argentine and Portuguese embassies

Moscow ordered a missile strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday. It did so after the assassination of the so far highest-ranking Russian military officer was killed in the framework of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The Russian military justified the attack as a "response" to another one by Ukraine on Wednesday against a factory on Russian territory, using Western missiles.

"One person was killed and 12 were wounded," five of whom are still in hospital, the capital's military administration said in its latest balance sheet.

The attack fell in the center of the city of Kyiv, and according to several international governments, damaged the buildings of the diplomatic delegations in the Ukrainian capital, among them those of Portugal and Argentina. Also those of Albania, the Palestinian Authority, North Macedonia, and Montenegro.

The Russian attack used five Iskander-M type ballistic missiles or their similar North Korean-made counterparts, all shot down, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. The damage to the diplomatic buildings was collateral and caused by debris from the missiles once shot down.

Missile debris fell in three districts of Kyiv, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, and left hundreds of buildings without heat for several hours.

The worst-hit area was in the luxurious downtown district, where the roof of an office building was partially destroyed.

Other buildings, such as that of the Kyiv National Linguistic University, were also affected.

"All the missiles were successfully intercepted, but one of the warheads could not be destroyed and exploded near the office building," Defense Express, a defense analysis center, said.