KYIV, Ukraine — Russia targeted the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, with another wave of drone strikes early Tuesday, killing at least one person, setting residential buildings on fire. and expand a horrible day for city dwellers.
For the second night in a row and the 17th of this month, explosions in different parts of Kyiv jolted people out of bed and sent them fleeing for cover as Moscow launched an attack. new to the city of 3.6 million people.
Ukraine’s Air Force said on Tuesday that air defense teams shot down 29 of 31 Iranian-made drones launched by Russia overnight, most of them targeting Kyiv.
Ivan Vyhivskyi, acting Director of National Police, said in a statement that a 33-year-old woman was killed by falling debris during the attack and at least 13 people were injured.
While Kyiv has been under attack since the first days of the war, the speed and intensity of the attacks in May shocked even civilians now accustomed to spending hours in bomb shelters and sleepless nights huddled in the corridors.
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, in an appearance on national television, angered many in the city. “If the Russians can turn Kiev into a nightmare, why should the people of Moscow rest?”
Not long after Klitschko spoke, Russian officials accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone strike on Moscow. There was no comment from the Ukrainian military, which maintains a policy of strategic ambiguity about attacks in Russia. But Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Kiev was not “directly involved”.
Yulia Honcharova, a Kyiv resident, reacted to news of the Moscow attack with a mixture of anger and defiance. “I am not among those who believe that we should bomb their neighborhoods at night, but I do want them to feel living in a state of constant alarm like those living in Kyiv, Kharkiv , what Dnipro is like,” she said.
Ukrainian officials said the attacks focused on Kyiv were most likely aimed at damaging air defenses to make the capital more vulnerable and exhausting civilians.
Serhiy Popko, head of Kiev’s military junta, said that people in the city were reeling from attacks that were spaced hours, not days.
“In the last 24 hours, the enemy has carried out three attacks,” he said on Tuesday morning.
Before dawn on Tuesday, Russia targeted Kyiv with more than three dozen drones and cruise missiles fired from multiple directions in an attempt to confuse air defenses. Then, less than six hours later, Moscow launched a rare daytime salvo of ballistic missiles into the city, sending residents, including schoolchildren, running for cover.
Much of the successful work of Ukrainian air defense teams this month has saved a lot of lives and limited damage from air strikes.
But drones and missiles still pose a danger to civilians as debris crashes into the streets below.
Mykola Oleschuk, the commander of the Ukrainian air force, said in a statement on Tuesday morning: “Unfortunately, everything destroyed in the sky fell to the ground and brought suffering to people.
Russia intensifies attacks on Kiev as Ukraine prepares to respond a counterattack.
Mr. Zelenskiy, in his overnight speech before the nation on Monday, saying that each “terrorist attack” on the capital and other cities “brings us and the whole world to a clear conclusion: Russia wants to go down the criminal path to together”.
Vowing to respond to Russian aggression on the battlefield, Zelensky said his government had approved a date for the start of offensive operations.
“Decisions have been made,” he said.
Anna Lukinova And Natalia Novosolova contribution report.
