Waves of Russian drones and missiles struck districts across the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Tuesday, killing 14 people and injuring 44, according to the interior ministry, APA reports citing Reuters.
The Russian attack struck 27 locations around the capital, damaging residential buildings, educational institutions, and critical infrastructure facilities, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
"Today, the enemy spared neither drones nor missiles," he said about what he called one of the largest attacks on the city since Russia launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Reuters witnesses said drones swarmed over the capital and they heard what appeared to be missiles overhead. An air raid alert remained in effect more than seven hours after it had been proclaimed.
Other parts of the country also came under attack, including a region outside the capital where one person was injured and the southern region of Odesa, where 13 people were injured, according to local authorities.
Klymenko said a ballistic missile struck a nine-storey residential building in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district, destroying a section of it. He said the emergency services were racing to search through the rubble for any possible survivors.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that a 62-year-old U.S. citizen had died in a dwelling opposite a site where medics were providing assistance during the attack. Klymenko said the man died from shrapnel wounds.
Both Ukraine and Russia have launched drone attacks in recent weeks as the two sides have held two sessions of direct talks on ending the more than three-year-old war. The talks have produced agreements on freeing prisoners of war and returning the bodies of fallen soldiers, but little more.
"More strikes by Russian drones on residential buildings in Kyiv," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram. "Russia is continuing its war on civilians."
Russian air defence units intercepted and destroyed 147 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, including the Moscow region, overnight, Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.
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07:04
Waves of Russian drones and missiles struck districts across the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Tuesday, damaging an apartment building, sparking fires and injuring up to 16 people, city officials said, APA reports citing Reuters.
Reuters witnesses said drones swarmed over the capital and they heard what appeared to be missiles overhead. An air raid alert remained in effect more than seven hours after it had been proclaimed.
Other parts of the country also came under attack, including areas outside the capital and the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, where the regional governor reported at least four strikes.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that most of the 16 injured were in Solomianskyi district, near the city centre, where a drone damaged the top floor of an apartment building and other non-residential areas.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, noted 12 strikes in five districts. Among the targets was a kindergarten in the city's eastern edge.
"The capital is coming under a combined attack," Tkachenko wrote. "The Russians are deploying missiles and strike drones. There are fires in different districts and emergency crews are at work."
Waves of drones had attacked Solomianskyi district, he said. "This is a very difficult night," he wrote, adding that there had been power cuts in some areas.
Both Ukraine and Russia have launched mass drone attacks in recent weeks as the two sides have held two sessions of direct talks on ending the more than three-year-old war. The talks have produced agreements on freeing prisoners of war and returning the bodies of fallen soldiers, but little more.
"More strikes by Russian drones on residential buildings in Kyiv," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram. "Russia is continuing its war on civilians."
Klitschko reported that a 62-year-old U.S. citizen had died in a dwelling opposite a site where medics were providing assistance. He gave no further details and it was not clear how the man had died.
In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defence units had repelled an attack on the city by two Ukrainian drones. The city's airports were briefly closed.
