KYIV, Ukraine — Ballistic missiles exploded in a clear blue sky Monday, and frightened pedestrians rushed out of the streets of the Ukrainian capital as battle raged overhead in an arrow strike. Rare fire during the day in Kyiv.
Air raid alarms rang shortly after 11 a.m. local time, prompting parents to race to get their children to safety and hospital staff to take shelter in bomb shelters. Loud explosions reverberated throughout the city within minutes, as the Ukrainian air defenses began to operate. Children wearing backpacks start running and screaming as explosions resound on a street in Kyiv, video widely shared by Ukrainian officials shows on social media.
Even in this city, where people have adjusted their daily routines to adapt to life at stake, the attack – this 16th of the month and the first daylight attack in weeks – is a stunning reminder that the Ukrainian capital remains a prime target, and reiterates some According to Ukrainian officials, Moscow has consistently deployed attack drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, and adjust your tactics to try to deal maximum damage.
So far, Ukraine’s air defenses, augmented by Western weapons, have prevented the majority of aerial attacks on Kyiv, limiting casualties and damage in populated areas. All 11 missiles headed for the capital on Monday was shot down, Ukrainian officials said. Authorities said the falling debris caused some damage in various areas of the city and that information about possible casualties was still being worked out.
Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv regional military administration, said in a statement that the daytime attack came just six hours after the night attack. After weeks of attacks at night, Russian forces “attacked a peaceful city during the day, when most residents were at work and on the streets,” Popko said.
Rescue and fire crews were then dispatched to extinguish the fire caused by debris falling on a major road in the capital. The Kyiv regional military administration said it was working to clear debris from at least six locations around the city.
As Kiev builds air defense systems, Russia seems to be constantly testing them. Russian forces have altered the timing of their bombardment, the combination of weapons they use, and the trajectory of missiles and drones, most recently flying low along river beds and over valleys to avoid was discovered.
Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said in an appearance on national television over the weekend that, with those adjustments, Russian forces were trying to “confuse confusion. and fool our air defenses.” “It uses the topography of the area to disappear from radar.”
“But as we can see, the Ukrainian air defenses are getting stronger and stronger,” he added.
On Sunday, Ukrainian air defense teams repelled the Russian plane. biggest drone strike on the city since the beginning of the war. Less than 18 hours later, another attack took place during the night.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russian forces fired a total of 40 cruise missiles and 38 Iranian-made attack drones on Monday, and 36 missiles and 30 drones. The driver was shot down.
A missile hit the village of Kivsharivka in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, according to the local military government. It said at least three people were injured in the attack.
According to Ukrainian officials, the Russian overnight strike hit at least one military facility, damaging an airport located at Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine.
“Five aerial vehicles have been deactivated,” Khmelnytskyi Regional Military Administration said in a statement. It said rescue teams were racing to put out fires at a fuel depot and warehouse at the base. “Recovery work also began at the runway,” the government said.
Hours after those strikes, alarms sounded again in some parts of Ukraine. Millions of people across the capital, still reeling from nights of continuous bombardment, watched anti-aircraft missiles launch into the clear spring sky.
Residents of Kiev – a city of 3.6 million people – pause, brace themselves and wait. When the explosions subsided, residents of the capital did as they did after each attack – posting messages on social media thanking the air defense teams, texting their friends and continuing their business. their business.
Nataliia Novosolova And Tiffany can contribution report.
