Russia has launched a series of attacks against Ukraine, including the use of Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones at the capital, Kyiv.
According to Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, the strikes damaged vital infrastructure in three districts, disconnecting energy to hundreds of villages across the country.
The Ukrainian minister of the interior reports multiple fatalities.
The capital was struck by Russian missiles at rush hour a week ago, as part of a nationwide attack that left 19 people dead.
Mr. Shmygal stated that Russian strikes had struck the regions of Kyiv, Dnipro, and Sumy.
Russia stated that it has struck “all designated targets” in its most recent attacks, confirming that Ukraine’s “military command facilities and energy infrastructure” were objectives.
“It demonstrates their desperation,” said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
And at the port city of Mykolaiv, suicide drones set fire to sunflower oil tanks, according to the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Senkevich.
Mr. Senkevich stated that three unmanned aerial vehicles torched the tanks near Mykolaiv late on Sunday evening, hours before the attack on Kyiv.
A Ukrainian air force spokesman reported that 37 drones that had entered the nation from the south had been destroyed since the previous night.
Kyiv was attacked by drones on Monday morning; the low buzzing of these slow-moving weaponry is becoming familiar throughout the country.
The city resounded with gunfire as anti-aircraft batteries desperately attempted to shoot them down. A social media video looked to depict an interception.
Monday’s blasts began at about 06:30 local time (03:30 GMT). The most recent occurred at about 8:10 a.m. local time.
Two were near the city center, and sirens and automobile alarms could be heard throughout the vicinity.
“The adversary can target our cities, but it will not break us,” President Zelensky stated, describing the attacks as “terrifying the civilian population.”
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, characterized the attacks as barbaric “Genocide against the Ukrainians. Russians require a Ukraine devoid of Ukrainians.”
Mr. Klitschko stated that municipal officials were anticipating the arrival of air defense systems to protect the capital against drone strikes.
It is difficult to discern what was intended. The mayor’s office said that both residential and commercial structures had been damaged. According to railway personnel, explosions were observed close to Kyiv’s central station.
One journalist from Reuters saw bits of a drone used in the strike bearing the inscription “For Belgorod.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the Russian border city of Belgorod has been attacked multiple times. Moscow attributes the strikes to Kyiv.
On Saturday, two shooters who had volunteered to fight in Ukraine murdered eleven people at a Russian military training camp in the Belgorod region.
Recent attacks in Ukraine have targeted the energy infrastructure of the country. It would be unexpected if this were not to occur again.
Mr. Klitschko wrote on the social media platform Telegram that there were four strikes in Kyiv, although residents reported hearing five or six explosions. He also advised them to remain in bomb shelters.
Nevertheless, despite the warnings, the streets are not empty. Between the first and second wave of strikes, a large number of individuals appeared to be engaged in Monday morning activities.
Mr. Yermak referred to the kamikaze assaults as Russia’s “death pangs” and stated that Ukraine required additional air defense systems “now.”
President Vladimir Putin of Russia stated that last week’s attacks were a reprisal for Ukraine’s bombing of a vital bridge connecting Russia to seized Crimea.
It was the first time during the battle that Kyiv’s city center was directly targeted.
Mr. Putin stated earlier this week that there was no need for additional large-scale attacks on Ukraine. The majority of selected targets had been struck, he added, adding that he had no intention of destroying the country.
