Kyiv hospital hit by drone as satellite issues complicate air defense

Russian forces launched an overnight attack on a hospital in the center of Kyiv, striking the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics in the early hours of the morning. The incident occurred near several Western embassies and resulted in three people being injured when a drone impacted the second floor of the facility and an adjoining historic building from the 19th century.

The explosion caused significant collateral damage in the Shevchenkivskyi district, blowing out windows in nearby structures, including the National Academy of Arts located across the street. The hospital is situated in a busy area with cafes and a park that is popular with local residents and dog walkers. As smoke rose from the damaged building, firefighters worked to guide disoriented patients to safety.

Oleksandr, a witness who was present in the hospital yard, described the suddenness of the attack. He noted that the group was asleep when a massive boom woke them, causing everyone to jump out of bed immediately. Glass covered the floor as people moved quickly through the corridors. Oleksandr stated that the strike had narrowly missed the patients, adding that a hit slightly further to the left would have had much more severe consequences. He also mentioned feeling the force of the shock wave during the incident.

The witness expressed frustration regarding the targeting of wounded individuals, describing the action as low. He observed that Russia attacks various locations indiscriminately, including high-rise residential blocks in his area, without regard for where the bombs land or who is affected.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the incident by pointing to technical difficulties with the Starshield system. He explained that speed restrictions on the service, operated by SpaceX and overseen by the Pentagon, made it more difficult for Ukraine to intercept enemy drones. Some Russian aerial sorties were able to penetrate defenses because Ukrainian interceptor systems relying on this US satellite service could not achieve the necessary speed to destroy the incoming threats.

This marks the second time the service has experienced significant disruptions, following an unexplained slowdown last month. The White House has not yet provided an explanation for the current throttling of the service. These technical issues have arisen during a period of intense US-led diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.

This week saw a series of high-level meetings aimed at easing tensions. President Donald Trump’s representatives, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday. They subsequently traveled to Dublin to brief Zelenskyy on the discussions. These bilateral talks followed trilateral negotiations held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Kremlin negotiators have maintained their demand for Ukraine to cede four provinces, including areas where Russian troops have not fully established control. They are also advocating for a new European security architecture, a proposal that effectively calls for NATO to revert to its pre-1997 posture before the expansion of the alliance into Eastern Europe. Moscow has also expressed a desire to limit the involvement of European states in the US-brokered peace talks.

French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized the necessity of European participation in these negotiations. He stated that European involvement is required because US support for Kyiv has ended. Macron asserted that Europeans will ultimately be the ones to define and decide their own future security, highlighting the importance of their role in the process.

In addition to the strike on the hospital, Russian attacks on energy infrastructure overnight resulted in power outages across twelve regions of Ukraine. Deputy Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov listed the affected areas, which include Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Rivne, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Chernihiv. He noted that while energy workers are operating at an intensified pace, new attacks and constant air raid alerts are complicating and delaying repair efforts. Ronan Derkach, the director of the orthopedic hospital in Kyiv, confirmed that medical services were temporarily suspended to allow for a cleanup operation, with thirty patients moved to safety.