At least three people were killed and others were injured after Russia launched a barrage of drones on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in a rare attack, the city’s authorities said on Saturday.
“We already have four dead in Shevchenkivskyi district,” said Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, in a Telegram post. Police meanwhile reported three deaths.
What do we know about the attack?
The deaths were caused by a shot-down missile which fell over Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, Tkachenko said. The attack also injured three others, he added.
“Russian forces initially launched drones and then a ballistic-missile strike,” parliamentary ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets wrote on social media. “These acts merely underscore the enemy’s ruthlessness and barbarity.”
The strikes damaged an underground station and a water pipe, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Russian forces struck as well the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, the city’s regional governor said, adding that the strike injured ten people and damaged the offices of an industrial facility.
The overnight Russian barrage across Ukraine involved 39 drones and four ballistic missiles, according to Ukraine’s Air Force, which said it shot down 24 drones and two missiles.
The rare attack on the center of Kyiv comes as Ukraine has increased its attacks on Russian energy and military facilities in recent months.
mfi/rmt (AFP, AP, Reuters)
