KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday as its air defenses worked to stop drones in what has been a relentless wave of daytime and nighttime bombardment targeting Kiev.
The buzz of drones and loud explosions were heard as Ukraine’s air defense responded to the third Russian airstrike on the capital in the past 24 hours. According to preliminary data, more than 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kyiv airspace, according to the Kyiv Military Administration.
One person died, three were injured when a high-rise building in the Holosiiv neighborhood caught fire. The top two floors are destroyed and there could be people under the rubble, the Kyiv military administration said. More than 20 people were evacuated.
Elsewhere in the capital, falling debris caused a fire in a private house in the Darnytskyi district and three cars were set on fire in the Pechersky district, according to the military administration.
The string of attacks that began on Sunday included a rare daylight attack on Monday that left puffs of white smoke in the blue sky.
Russian forces fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at kyiv around 11:30 a.m., according to Ukrainian Chief of Staff Valerii Zaluzhnyi. All were shot, he said.
Debris from the intercepted missiles fell in central and northern districts of Kyiv in the morning, landing amidst traffic on a city road and also starting a fire on the roof of a building, the report said. Kiev military administration. At least one civilian was reportedly injured.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it launched a series of strikes Monday morning targeting Ukrainian airbases with long-range precision air-launched missiles. The strikes destroyed command posts, radars, aircraft and ammunition stocks, he said. It said nothing about hitting towns or other civilian areas.