KYIV: At least one person was killed and four others were injured when their apartment block was damaged and caught fire during a new round of Russian airstrikes on Kyiv early Tuesday.
Ukrainian defence forces claimed to have shot down more than 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones used by Russia.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said on the Telegram messaging service, “A massive attack!” “Do not leave the shelters.”
According to Ukrainian officials, a high-rise residential block was struck by debris from a wrecked Russian missile, causing a fire that resulted in one death and four injuries.
According to statements made on the Telegram messaging app by representatives of Kyiv’s military government, the building’s upper two stories were demolished, and there may still be individuals underneath the wreckage.
Photos taken by Kyiv authorities and by Reuters witnesses showed smoke billowing from the roof and flames devouring the building’s upper stories.
Serhiy Popko, the chief of Kyiv’s military administration, stated on Telegram that the attack was massive and occurred in many waves from various directions.
Other areas of the capital were also damaged by debris, including the famed Podil and Pecherskyi suburbs. The number of drones Russia launched was not immediately known, and Moscow made no immediate comments.
In an apparent effort to weaken Ukrainians’ resolve to fight after more than 15 months of hostilities, Russia has regularly assaulted the Ukrainian capital in May using a combination of drones and missiles, almost often at night.
Tuesday’s airstrikes marked Russia’s 17th airstrike against the nation’s capital this month. Earlier on Monday, the city had already been targeted twice, including by an extraordinary daytime hit.
Ukraine said that on Monday in the western Khmelnitskiy area, a runway was damaged and five aircraft were taken out of service, marking the first time damage to a military “target” has been acknowledged.
Multiple air bases have been struck, according to the defence ministry, according to the state-run Russian news agency RIA. Other air bases may have been damaged, although Ukraine has not confirmed this.
Ukrainian officials stated that most of the drones and missiles fired on Sunday and Monday had been shot down, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the Patriot anti-missile defences that the United States had delivered.
In his nightly video message on Monday, Zelenskiy declared, “Terror will be defeated when Patriots in the hands of Ukrainians ensure a 100% interception rate of any Russian missile.”
