Russia has launched an airstrike on Ukraine’s capital before dawn, killing at least one person and sending Kiev residents once again fleeing to shelters to escape a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombing.
At least 20 Shahed explosive drones were destroyed on Tuesday by air defense forces in Kyiv airspace during Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to early intelligence from Kyiv’s military administration. Overall, Ukraine shot down 29 of the 31 drones fired at the country, most of them in the Kiev area, the air force later added.
Before daylight, the hum of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they were brought down by air defense systems.
The overnight attacks on Kiev left one person dead and three injured when a high-rise building in the Holosiiv neighborhood caught fire. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, but falling debris from hitting drones and interceptor missiles regularly caused damage to the ground.
The top two floors of the building have been destroyed and people may be trapped under the rubble, Kyiv’s military administration said. More than 20 people were evacuated.
Elsewhere in the capital, falling debris set fire to a residential house in the Darnytskyi district and three cars were set on fire in the Pechersky district, the military administration said.
The series of attacks that began on Sunday included a rare daylight attack on Monday that left white clouds of smoke in the blue sky.
On that day, Russian forces fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kiev, according to Ukraine’s chief of staff, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. They were all shot, he said.
Debris from the intercepted missiles fell in Kiev’s central and northern districts in the morning, landing in the middle of traffic on a city road and also sparking fire on the roof of a building, Kiev’s military government said. At least one civilian was injured.
Russia’s defense ministry said it launched a series of air-launched long-range air-launched attacks on Ukrainian air bases early Monday. The attacks destroyed command posts, radars, aircraft and munitions stores, it claimed. It said nothing about hitting cities or other civilian areas.