KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a ballistic missile and a barrage of drones at Ukraine’s capital before dawn on Wednesday, killing at least two people in apartment buildings, Ukrainian officials said.
Eight people were also wounded in the attack, including four children, the Kyiv City Military Administration said in a post on Telegram.
The attack came before Russia’s planned unilateral 72-hour ceasefire in the more than three-year war to coincide with celebrations in Moscow marking Victory Day in World War II. The U.S. has proposed a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine has accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for ceasefire terms more to its liking.
The Kremlin said that the truce, ordered on “humanitarian grounds,” would start on Thursday and last through Saturday to mark the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expecting foreign dignitaries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to watch a military parade in Red Square during the 80th anniversary celebrations. Any Ukrainian attack, like Tuesday’s drone barrage that forced all four international airports around Moscow to temporarily suspend flights, would be embarrassing for the Russian leader.
The Kremlin announced Tuesday that Putin will travel to China at the end of August and beginning of September. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Moscow has drawn closer to China as Western countries sought to isolate Beijing diplomatically. Russia has become increasingly dependent economically on China because of Western sanctions.
At least one ballistic missile and 28 Russian drones were recorded in Kyiv’s airspace, authorities said. Air defense forces shot down the missile and 11 drones.
A five-story residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district in the center of the capital was hit by drone debris, sparking a fire in several apartments where the victims were found, he said. Four people, including three children, were hospitalized, while others received treatment on site.
In the Sviatoshynskyi district, fire broke out across multiple upper-floor apartments of a nine-story building after drone debris impact, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. Five people were rescued from the blaze, which spanned 100 square meters.
In Dniprovskyi district, the upper floors of a high-rise were partially destroyed by a drone strike, but no injuries were reported. In Solomianskyi, a ballistic missile was intercepted by air defense, with the warhead falling and damaging nonresidential infrastructure. One person was wounded in that strike.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the attack. Russian officials reported shooting down dozens of Ukrainian drones overnight, with local Gov. Alexander Bogomaz writing on social media that more than 140 airborne targets had been destroyed over Russia’s Bryansk region.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that local air defenses had repelled an attack by nine drones close to the Russian capital.
Drone attacks were also reported over the Tula region, where officials reported five drone attacks, and the Yaroslavl region, where local leader Gov. Mikhail Evraev said three drones had been destroyed.
In the city of Saransk, 630 kilometers (390 miles) east of Moscow, officials announced Wednesday that kindergartens, schools, colleges and universities would close temporarily. The message came shortly after local Gov. Artem Zdunov warned residents about a potential drone threat over the city. Local officials also posted warnings on social media against sharing photos and videos that showed the fallout from drone strikes.
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