At least two people have been killed and 13 injured in a new Russian overnight drone attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, local officials have said.
One of the victims was a one-year-old baby, whose body was pulled from the rubble, Kyiv’s military administration head Tymur Tkachenko said on Sunday. A young woman is also believed to have been killed.
Russia also attacked Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown in central Ukraine, where three infrastructure facilities were hit. Air raid warnings were activated overnight for all of the country’s regions.
The fresh attack came as Russian President Vladimir Putin has been hardening his warning[1] on the West not to aid Ukraine.
Kyiv officials said several multi-storey residential buildings in the western Svyatoshynkyi and south-eastern Darnytskyi districts were partially destroyed and continued to be ablaze after direct hits.
“The Russians are deliberately hitting civilian facilities,” Tkachenko said, urging residents to remain in shelters.
There were multiple explosions in Kyiv in the early morning, including at least one in the city centre, seen by the BBC. Several cruise missiles also targeted the capital.
Shortly afterwards, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said a government building was on fire in the central Pecherskyi district. He said a downed Russian drone likely caused the blaze.
“Firefighters are working on the scene,” the mayor added.
Russia has not commented on the reported drone strikes across Ukraine.
In a statement, the Russian defence ministry said its air defence forces shot down or intercepted 69 Ukrainian drones in a number of Russian regions.
Earlier this week, Putin rejected Western proposals for a “reassurance force” in Ukraine[2] the day after any ceasefire comes into place, following a Paris summit aimed at finalising plans for security guarantees.
French President Emmanuel Macron said 26 of Ukraine’s allies had formally committed to deploying troops “by land, sea or air” to help provide security the moment fighting was brought to a halt. He gave no further details.
Putin sought to quash the allies’ initiative, warning that any troops deployed to Ukraine would be “legitimate targets”.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory – including the southern Crimea peninsula illegally annexed in 2014.
References
- ^ Vladimir Putin has been hardening his warning (www.bbc.com)
- ^ Putin rejected Western proposals for a “reassurance force” in Ukraine (www.bbc.co.uk)