KYIV, Ukraine
Russia launched a pre-dawn air
raid on Ukraine’s capital Tuesday, killing at least one person and sending
Kyiv’s residents again scrambling into shelters to escape a relentless wave of
daylight and night-time bombardments, while Moscow authorities said the Russian
capital was attacked by drones.A Ukrainian soldier fires a mortar at Russian positions on the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, May 29, 2023.
At least 20 Shahed explosive
drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kyiv’s airspace in Russia’s
third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to early
information from the Kyiv Military Administration. Overall, Ukraine shot down
29 of 31 drones fired into the country, most in the Kyiv area, the air force
later added.
Before daylight, the buzzing
of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they
were taken down by air defense systems.
In Moscow, residents reported
hearing explosions and the Defense Ministry later said that eight drones had
been fired at the city in what it called a “terrorist attack” by the “Kyiv
regime.” It said five had been shot down and the systems of three were jammed,
causing them to veer off course.
Ukraine has not commented on
the Moscow attack, which would be one of its deepest strikes into Russia so far
since Russia invaded Ukraine more than 15 months ago. Since the war began, Moscow
has launched unrelenting drone and missile attacks at Ukraine’s cities,
frequently killing civilians.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin
said in a Telegram post that the attack caused “insignificant damage” to
several buildings. Two people received medical attention for unspecified
injuries but did not need hospitalization, he said.
Residents of two buildings
damaged in the attack were evacuated, Sobyanin said.
Andrei Vorobyov, governor of
the wider Moscow region, later said several drones were “shot down on the
approach to Moscow.”
It was the second reported an
attack on Moscow, after authorities said two drones targeted the Kremlin
earlier this month in what was labeled an attempt on President Vladimir Putin’s
life.
In the attacks overnight on
Kyiv, one person died and seven were injured, according to the municipal
military administration. A high-rise building in the Holosiiv district caught
fire after being hit by debris either from from drones being hit or interceptor
missiles.
The building’s upper two
floors were destroyed, and there may be people under the rubble, the Kyiv
Military Administration said. More than 20 people were evacuated.
Resident Valeriya Oreshko told
The Associated Press in the aftermath that even though the immediate threat was
over, the attacks had everyone on edge.
“You are happy that you are
alive, but think about what will happen next,” the 39-year-old said.
Oksana, who only gave her
first name, said the whole building shook when it was hit.
“Go to shelters, because you
really do not know where it (the drone) will fly,” she advised others. “We hold
on.”
Elsewhere in the capital,
falling debris caused a fire in a private house in the Darnytskyi district and
three cars were set alight in the Pechersky district, according to the military
administration.
The series of attacks that
began Sunday included a rare daylight attack Monday that left puffs of white
smoke in the blue skies.
On that day, Russian forces
fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv at about 11:30 a.m., according
to Ukraine’s chief of staff, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. All of them were shot down, he
said.
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 the roof of
a building, the Kyiv military administration said. At least one civilian was
reported hurt.
The Russian Defense Ministry
said it launched a series of strikes early 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 didn’t say
anything about hitting cities or other civilian areas. - AP
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