Russian forces launched a combined drone and missile strike on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early on Saturday, killing at least three people in a central district, according to city officials.
Explosions boomed across the pre-dawn sky as air defences repelled the attack, which also wounded three others, according to military administration chief Timur Tkachenko.
Casualties
He said four people had been killed, while police reported three deaths.
A metro station and water pipe were also damaged in the Russian strike, said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Rescue workers plodded through a flooded street as they sifted through debris.
Damage To Property
The charred remains of a van were visible in front of the station, whose facade was marked by twisted metal and blown-out windows.
“Russian forces initially launched drones and then a ballistic-missile strike,” parliamentary ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets wrote on social media.
“These acts merely underscore the enemy’s ruthlessness and barbarity.”
There was no immediate comment from Moscow, which typically denies targeting civilians.
Russia also struck the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, where the regional governor said ten people were wounded and the offices of an industrial facility were damaged.
Drones Intercepted
The Ukrainian military said it had destroyed 24 of 39 drones and two of four missiles launched by Russia across various parts of Ukraine during the overnight attack.
On Friday, a Russian missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, killed four people and partially destroyed an educational facility, officials said.
A New Barrage Of Missiles And Drones
Earlier on January 15, Russia attacked Ukraine’s hobbled power system by launching a new barrage of missiles and drones, targeting gas infrastructure and other energy facilities in western regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russian forces had launched over 40 missiles during the morning attack and used more than 70 drones overnight.
He said that Ukrainian air defences had shot down at least 30 missiles.
Russia has carried out regular air strikes on towns and cities far behind the front line of its almost three-year-old invasion of Ukraine, targeting critical infrastructure in particular.
(With inputs from Reuters)
