ussian missiles have struck Kyiv just hours after a huge kamikaze-drone blitz on the Ukrainian capital.
Russian forces fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv about 11.30am on Monday forcing locals to leave work and take shelter in metro stations. Ukrainian officials said all the missiles were shot down and there are no reports of deaths.
Debris from the intercepted missiles fell in Kyiv’s central and northern districts during the morning, landing in the middle of traffic on a city road and also starting a fire on a building’s roof, the Kyiv military administration said. At least one civilian was reported hurt.
Workers at a site where debris fell during Monday’s Russian attack
/ Getty ImagesThe blasts unnerved some locals, already under strain after being awakened by the night attack.
“After what happened last night, I react sharply to every siren now. I was terrified, and I’m still trembling,” shared Alina Ksenofontova, a 50-year-old woman who took refuge in the Kyiv subway with her dog Bublik.
Residents take shelter in a metro station
/ AFP via Getty ImagesRussia used Iskander short-range missiles in the morning attack, the spokesman for Ukraine’s air force said on local television.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it launched a series of strikes on Monday targeting Ukrainian air bases with precision long-range air-launched missiles. The strikes destroyed command posts, radars, aircraft and ammunition stockpiles, it claimed. It did not comment on hitting cities or other civilian areas.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned against indifference, saying the repeated strikes on civilian areas amounted to “war crimes.”
“Russia’s drone and missile attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities cannot be seen as usual, no matter how frequent they grow,” he tweeted in English.
During the previous night, Ukraine air defenses brought down more than 40 targets as Russian forces bombarded Kyiv with a combination of drones and cruise missiles in their 15th night-time attack on the capital this month, according to Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration.
On Saturday night, Kyiv was subjected to the largest drone attack since the start of Russia’s war. At least one person was killed, local officials said.
