May 29, 2023 11:11 PM ET
May 29, 2023 11:11 p.m. ETAA residential building was damaged by a Russian drone strike in Kiev, Ukraine on Tuesday. Credit: Valentyn Ogirenko/Portal
Russia unleashed another wave of attacks on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early Tuesday, killing at least one and prompting evacuations. This extended a day of terror for the city’s residents, which began with strikes at noon.
According to local and military officials, explosions erupted in different parts of Kiev during the night, sparking a fire in a high-rise building and killing one person. At least three people were injured. It wasn’t immediately clear if the damage was caused by debris from intercepted attacks or direct hits.
A month of relentless attacks on the capital has shaken a weary populace. Local officials said there had been 17 attacks in 30 days, marking some of the city’s worst moments since the invasion. Ukrainian officials said the concentrated attacks aimed to confuse and disable their air defense systems and to intimidate and tire civilians.
Twenty people were evacuated from the skyscraper, the top two floors of which were on fire, and people may have been trapped in the rubble, the Kiev city military administration said.
Elsewhere in Kyiv, two houses and three cars caught fire from falling debris and four people were hospitalized with injuries, the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Serhii Popko, the head of Kiev’s military administration, said the early morning attacks were the third wave in 24 hours aimed at the capital. Rare daytime ballistic missile fire on Monday caused local residents, including schoolchildren with their backpacks, to run for cover as the city’s air defense system fired missiles.
According to Ukrainian officials, the city was attacked with 11 ballistic missiles shortly after 11 a.m. Monday. No fatalities were known from the earlier attacks; According to officials, a woman was injured. Russia said Monday’s attacks targeted air bases rather than civilians. Ukrainian officials said an airfield in western Ukraine was hit.
Early Tuesday, Russian forces appeared to have been targeting the city, mostly using drones. According to the city’s military administration, at least 20 people were intercepted. Russian forces have been constantly changing attack methods, Mr. Popko said.
Russia has stepped up attacks on civilians, including in the capital, in recent weeks, while Ukraine prepares for a counteroffensive. Military analysts said Ukraine laid the groundwork for the campaign by launching attacks far beyond enemy lines and undermining Russia’s logistical operations.
“It’s time to get back what is ours,” Ukraine’s top military commander, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, wrote in a statement on Saturday.
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