Four killed in Russian drone and missile attack in Kiev, Ukraine. russia-ukraine war news
The dawn raid in the busy Shevchenkivskyi district also damaged a water pipeline and forced the closure of a metro station.
At least four people have been killed in a Russian drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital.
Timur Tkachenko, head of Kiev’s military administration, said the attack at dawn on Saturday took place in the Shevchenkivskyi district in the city center.
“Stay in shelters,” Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on Telegram Saturday morning. He had warned just hours earlier of a “ballistic missile threat” against the capital and said an air defense operation was underway around the city.
According to the mayor, windows were broken, including at the entrance to the Lukyanivska metro station in the Shevchenkivsky district, which was closed.
Shevchenkivskyi area is a busy part of Kyiv with universities, bars and restaurants.
Also on Saturday, Russian forces “attacked the center” of Zaporizhia, wounding two people, according to local governor Ivan Fedorov. He said the administrative building of an industrial facility was partially damaged.
Reporting from Kiev, Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull said explosions were heard around 6 a.m. (04:00 GMT), “echoing amid anti-aircraft fire, both ballistic missiles and drones on air alert.” Dangers were indicated”.
He told that smoke was seen coming from a residential building.
Later that morning, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that it had destroyed 24 drones and two ballistic missiles that were launched as part of the same attack.
Ukrainian counterattack
The rare attack on the center of Ukraine’s capital comes amid intensified Ukrainian air attacks on Russian energy and military facilities in recent months.
Ukraine’s military has recently attacked several Russian oil depots, including two major attacks on a facility near a military airfield in Russia’s Saratov region, causing a fire that lasted for several days.
Late Friday night, a Ukrainian drone strike on Lyudinovo in Russia’s Kaluga region sparked a fire at an industrial site, according to regional governor Vladislav Shapsha.
Videos posted on unofficial Russian social media sites showed firefighting vehicles speeding towards a massive explosion at an oil storage depot in the city. There is no information about any casualty.
