Kyiv – A series of Russian attacks over Ukraine killed at least six people across the country, officials said Wednesday, including two in Kyiv, which has faced intensifying bombardments.
The capital has come under increased attack in recent weeks as winter approaches, with air raid sirens wailing nearly constantly to warn of incoming Russian strikes.
Residents hunkered down in subway stations early on Wednesday, hauling duffel bags, sleeping mats and blankets, after the military issued alerts for Kyiv and other parts of the country.
“We grabbed our things and came here, we live right next door,” Iryna Rybalchenko, who works in a bank, told AFP, sitting on the platform wrapped in a dark hoodie and surrounded by bags.
“The whole of Kyiv is in a state of fear. We were stuck at work today and everyone –- our group chats, our bosses –- were messaging us to be careful.”
Russia launched at least 50 missiles and 130 drones overnight against several regions including Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Poltava, Ukraine’s air force said.
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga denounced a “massive attack with hundreds of missiles and drones that hit residential buildings and critical infrastructure.”
“At least two people were killed in the capital and four more across the country,” he said.
‘Tearing Kyiv apart’
The two victims in the capital died in a fire in the densely populated Darnytskyi neighbourhood as a result of Wednesday’s attack, Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko said.
“The bodies of two people who had been killed were found,” he wrote.
He had warned last week the capital should now be on a war footing as the enemy was “tearing Kyiv apart” with strikes on bridges and energy infrastructure.
The renewed attacks had triggered scheduled power cuts on Tuesday, which plunged parts of Kyiv into darkness to ease the pressure on the battered grid.
A familiar rumbling sound of the generators, used to get through power cuts, filled the streets again, bringing back memories of the previous winter, when systematic Russian attacks regularly cut power and heating.
In the evening, Zelensky warned residents to monitor for air raid sirens, saying in his nightly address that “there is updated intelligence information regarding the preparation by the Russians of a massive strike”.
Military monitoring channels also said they expected a large-scale Russian attack, combining cruise and ballistic missiles with fast-moving jet-powered drones.
Zelensky said the military was “ready to respond, to the extent that our defence systems allow”.
The air force said in the morning that it intercepted five ballistic missiles, as well as 39 cruise missiles and over 100 drones.
Ukraine has been struggling to down the new and fast-moving jet-powered drones, as well as the ballistic missiles that are harder to intercept.
“The children were absolutely terrified. Whenever there’s heavy shelling, we try to head underground,” Daria Medvedeva, 36, told AFP.
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Source: AFP
