Russia targeted the Ukrainian capital and other cities across the country with a barrage of drones and ballistic missiles before dawn on Saturday, killing at least four people and injuring at least a dozen others, Ukrainian officials said .
Air raid alarms still sounded as emergency teams rushed to search for the dead and wounded – an eerily familiar routine in a country hit by relentless Russian bombing for nearly three years.
The Ukrainian Air Force said four ballistic missiles and 39 attack drones were used in the assault, adding that two ballistic missiles were shot down in the capital kyiv region.
In kyiv, the attack caused a water pipe to break near the city center, sending water cascading into the streets around the dilapidated facade of the Lukyanivska metro station. Nearby was a charred van, with smoke still rising from it and two burned corpses inside.
As a fire burned deep inside an industrial building across the street, some firefighters tried to remove debris from the storefront of a badly damaged McDonald’s. Others focused on the huge pieces of glass, debris and insulation covering the sidewalk near the subway station — typically a place where residents seek safety in case of attacks.
As investigators walked the street, searching the water for shrapnel, local business owners tried to break through a police cordon.
“It’s very scary because this place is being hit again and again. Some things get intercepted, but others still get through. It’s always very scary, especially since my husband has a store here,” said Yana, 30, who only wanted to give her first name. “It’s simply terrifying. There’s never of peace. We came to check if everything was intact, and thank God everything is fine. We are very happy and relieved.
The missile attack came after Ukrainian air defense teams spent hours tracking down and attempting to shoot down attack drones in the skies above the country.
Russia uses drones both to hit targets and to wear down air defense teams, and for months it has sent swarms of them into Ukraine almost every night. Many are “dummy” drones, without nuclear warheads, intended to overwhelm mobile air defense teams on 24-hour standby.
kyiv is trying to reserve its more sophisticated air defense systems for combating cruise and ballistic missiles, which are both deadlier and more expensive to produce.
An air raid alert had just ended in kyiv shortly before 6 a.m. when detonations were heard across the city. A few seconds later, the air-warning sirens began to wail.
Explosions were also reported in other regions of Ukraine.
In Zaporizhzhia, in the south, at least 10 people were injured, including one seriously, after a strike against infrastructure. The city has recently suffered heavy attacks, including a strike this month that killed 13 civilians and injured at least 110 others, according to Ukrainian officials.
The United Nations estimates that there has been a 30% increase in civilian casualties in 2024 compared to 2023, as Russia seeks to subjugate Ukraine.
Saturday’s attack came a day after Russian missiles struck the town of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, killing four people. people and damaging buildings.
“Each of these terrorist attacks reminds us again who we are dealing with,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the attack on Kryvy Rih, his hometown. “Russia will not stop on its own. Only joint pressure can stop it. The pressure of all those who value life in the world.
Ukraine has built its own arsenal of long-range missiles and drones to fight back. In recent weeks, it has intensified its campaign to target oil and gas facilities in Russia’s heartland.
That campaign continued on Saturday, with fires reported at an oil depot in the Tula region, south of Moscow, and in the Kaluga region, about 160 km southwest of Moscow.
Lyubov Choludko contributed reporting from Kyiv.
