Firefighters work after a drone fired on buildings in Kyiv. Photo / Roman Hrytsyna, AP
Firefighters work after a drone fired on buildings in Kyiv. Photo / Roman Hrytsyna, AP
Waves of explosives-laden suicide drones struck Ukraine’s capital Monday, setting buildings ablaze and tearing a hole in one of them. People scurried for shelter or tried to shoot down the kamikazes.
The concentrated use of the drones was the second barrage in as many weeks — after months in whichair attacks had become become a rarity in central Kyiv. The assault sowed terror and frayed nerves as blasts rocked the city. Energy facilities were struck and one drone largely collapsed a residential building, killing four people, authorities said.
Intense, sustained bursts of gunfire rang out as the Iranian-made Shahed drones buzzed overhead, apparently from soldiers trying to destroy them. Others headed for shelter, nervously scanning the skies. But Ukraine has become grimly accustomed to attacks nearly eight months into the Russian invasion, and city life resumed as rescuers picked through debris.
“The whole night, and the whole morning, the enemy terrorizes the civilian population,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post. “Kamikaze drones and missiles are attacking all of Ukraine.
“The enemy can attack our cities, but it won’t be able to break us,” he wrote.
Ukrainian soldiers shoot at a drone seconds before it fires on buildings in Kyiv. Photo / Vadym Sarakhan, AP
Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko confirmed one explosion occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district. One strike damaged a residential building, while others targeted the central train station.
According to Andriy Yermak, the head of the President’s Office, the city was attacked with kamikaze drones.
“The capital was attacked by kamikaze drones,” the president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on social media.
Firefighters work after a drone fired on buildings in Kyiv. Photo / AP
New York Times reporter Megan Specia said they were “rattled out of our sleep” by the commotion, which pundits believe may have been caused by Iranian-made Shahed 129 drones being deployed by Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week said Iranian drones were used in Russian attacks on energy infrastructure across the nation.
Iran has denied supplying Russia with munitions for the invasion.
“The explosions in Kyiv were preceded by a humming noise similar to a loud lawnmower engine, suggesting that Shahed drones may have been use in the attacks,” Ukraine correspondent Christopher Miller said.
There are no reports of casualties.
The city’s authorities have urged locals to stay in shelters until further notice.
Two loud explosions in a central district of Kyiv this morning, just as people prepare for work. Looks like a residential area near the train station has been hit. pic.twitter.com/kiSmFnMy1A
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attacks were in retaliation to the strikes on a bridge linking Russia to the Crimean peninsula, one of the regions currently under Moscow’s control.
