Russia hits Kyiv with drone attacks for second night in a row, Ukraine says
2024.10.21 07:19
KYIV (Reuters) -Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with several waves of drones for the second night in a row, damaging residential buildings and injuring at least one civilian, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.
One civilian was killed and 14 were injured in a separate ballistic missile attack on Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine on Monday morning, local authorities said.
The Ukrainian military said air defences downed 59 out of 116 Russian drones launched overnight. The military lost track of 45 drones that likely fell into Ukrainian territory, it said.
“Another night, another worry,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram. “The enemy does not reduce the intensity of air attacks on Ukraine and Kyiv.”
The military said several attacks hit civilian infrastructure.
About 10 drones targeting the capital in several waves and from different directions were destroyed, Popko said. While none of the weapons hit their target, falling debris injured at least one man, he added.
Debris fell onto three of Kyiv’s main districts, damaging some roofs and the facades of several residential buildings and power cables, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
The roof of a multi-storey residential building was damaged, windows were smashed and one apartment was partially destroyed, Kyiv regional administration said.
The air raid alerts in Kyiv lasted more than five hours before the air force declared skies clear at around 0215 GMT.
Russia also struck Zaporizhzhia on Monday morning, governor Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Seven people were wounded and more than 30 houses were damaged. These are the preliminary consequences of the enemy attack on Zaporizhzhia,” he said.
Later he said the number of wounded had risen to 14 and one was killed.
In a separate attack on Kryviy Rih in east Ukraine five people were injured and several multi-storey buildings, shops, a post office and a pharmacy were damaged.
The attacks followed Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities on Sunday, which injured 17 people in a central Ukrainian city.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Moscow.
Both countries deny targeting civilians in the 2-1/2-year war that started when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
