Russia pounded Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv with missiles early on Monday, while falling debris from the downed weapons injured at least two people, sparking fires and damaging homes and infrastructure, officials said.
Ukrainian forces destroyed 22 out of 35 missiles and 20 out of 23 attack drones launched by Russia on Monday morning, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
It said on the Telegram messenger that it had destroyed nine ballistic missiles and 13 cruise missiles in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Air raid alerts went out across Ukraine for nearly two hours before the air force declared the skies clear. Neighbouring Nato member Poland activated Polish and allied aircraft to keep its airspace safe during the attacks.
A boiler house at a Kyiv water plant was partially damaged as was the entrance to a metro station doubling as a bomb shelter in the Svyatoshynksyi district, Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said on Telegram, though the station still operates.
The district is home to a cluster of universities and schools.
The attack injured at least two people, Mr Klitschko said. Cars were set ablaze across the city as well as a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, he added.
Emergency services also went to the districts of Svyatoshynksyi, Holosiivskyi, and Solomyanskyi, where debris fell from destroyed missiles, he added.
Solomyanskyi is home to a major train station and Kyiv’s main airport. The historic neighbourhood of Svyatoshynksyi is on the city’s western edge, while Holosiivskyi is in its southwest.
Witnesses in Kyiv heard a series of loud explosions in what sounded like the work of air defence units, some in the central area.
The attack came exactly a week after Moscow launched more than 200 missiles and drones on Ukraine, killing seven people and striking energy facilities nationwide in what Kyiv called the war’s “most massive” attack.
Russia denies targeting civilians in the 30-month-old war unleashed by Moscow’s invasion of its smaller neighbour. – Reuters