Russia attacks Kyiv with ballistic missiles

Russia targeted the Ukrainian capital and other cities across the country with a barrage of drones and ballistic missiles before dawn on Saturday, killing at least four people and wounding at least a dozen others, Ukrainian officials said.

Air raid sirens were still blaring as emergency crews raced to search for the dead and wounded — a familiar routine in a country that has been subjected to sustained Russian bombing for nearly three years.

The Ukrainian Air Force said that four ballistic missiles and 39 attack drones were used in the attack, adding that two ballistic missiles were shot down in the Kiev capital region.

In Kiev, the attack ruptured a main water line near the city center, sending water pouring into the streets surrounding the destroyed facade of the Lukyanevska metro station. Nearby there was a charred truck, smoke still rising from it, and two burned bodies inside.

As the fire burned deep inside an industrial building across the street, some firefighters were trying to pull debris away from the front of the badly damaged McDonald’s restaurant. Others were focused on the huge pieces of glass, debris and insulation covering the sidewalk near the metro station, a place residents usually seek for safety during attacks.

As investigators walked up and down the street, reaching into the flowing water to search for shrapnel, local store owners tried to bypass the police cordon.

“It’s very scary because this place is bombed over and over again. Some things are intercepted, but others always get through. It’s always scary, especially since my husband has a shop here,” said Yana, 30, who declined to give only her first name. “It’s just terrifying. There is never peace. We came to check if everything is in order, and thank God, everything is fine. “We are very happy and relieved.”

The missile attack came after Ukrainian air defense teams spent hours tracking and trying to shoot down the offensive drones in the country’s skies.

Russia has been using drones to hit targets and wear down air defense teams, and for months, it has been sending swarms of them into Ukraine almost every night. Many are “dummy” drones, without warheads, intended to confuse mobile air defense teams that keep watch 24 hours a day.

Kiev is trying to reserve its most advanced air defense systems to deal with cruise and ballistic missiles, which are deadlier and more expensive to produce.

An air raid warning had just gone out in Kiev shortly before 6 a.m. when explosions were heard throughout the city. Seconds later, air raid sirens started blaring.

Explosions were also reported in other parts of Ukraine.

In Zaporizhia, in the south of the country, at least 10 people were injured, one of them in serious condition, after infrastructure was bombed. The city has been under heavy attack recently, including a raid this month that killed 13 civilians and wounded at least 110 others, according to Ukrainian officials.

The United Nations has estimated that there will be a 30% increase in civilian casualties in 2024 compared to 2023, as Russia seeks to strike Ukraine into surrender.

Saturday’s attack came a day after Russian missiles fell on the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, killing four. the people and damaged buildings.

“Every terrorist attack like this is another reminder of who we are dealing with,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the attack on his hometown of Kryvyi Rih. He added: “Russia will not stop on its own. It can only be stopped by putting pressure on the joints. The pressure exerted by every person in the world values ​​life.

Ukraine is building its own arsenal of long-range missiles and drones to respond. In recent weeks, it has intensified its campaign to target oil and gas facilities deep in Russia.

That campaign continued on Saturday, as fires were reported at an oil depot in the Tula region, south of Moscow, and the Kaluga region, about 100 miles southwest of Moscow.

Lyubov Shlodko He contributed reporting from Kyiv.