At least four people have been wounded after Russia launched a third consecutive night of kamikaze drone strikes on Kyiv.
“Tonight, a massive attack by Iranian drones took place,” the capital’s military administration said on Telegram.
Iran-made Shahed explosive drones had “entered the capital from different directions,” it said, adding “about a dozen” had been downed in the city’s airspace.
Air raid sirens sounded in the capital just after midnight.
Kyiv Post reporters in the center of the city heard several drones passing overhead around 1:30 a.m., followed by a series of loud explosions as they were intercepted by air defenses.
During the attacks on the previous two nights, drones were intercepted before they reached the airspace over the city.
Debris from the destroyed drones was reported in five districts, damaging buildings, and injuring residents. Among the injured were a 19-year-old woman and 23-year-old man who were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds.
At the site of one of the damaged buildings in Darnitskyi District, Anastasia told Kyiv Post: "It was very loud. The air defenses were working and trying to hit I think 3 drones.
Photo: Jay Shnell.
"They hit one, and pieces of shrapnel hit the buildings. Three people were injured – two from one building and one from another.
Photo: Jay Shnell.
"The emergency services got to them and took them away very quickly."
Ukrainian Drone Strikes Gazprom Refinery in Bashkiria, Sets Record Range of 1500 km
Photo: Jay Shnell.
Initially, it was reported that a man had died as a result of a fire caused by debris from a drone hitting his apartment. However, the State Emergency Service has clarified that the information about the deceased person was incorrect.
It was later reported a separate domestic fire had occurred at the same time as the drone strike. The State Emergency Service confirmed that the man died as a result of the domestic fire and it was not related to the enemy attack.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, said on Telegram: “In the Podilsky district, during the firefighting in an apartment building, a body of one dead person was discovered.”
In a previous post, he said emergency services were responding to calls in Solomyansky, Shevchenkivsky, Podilsky and Darnytsky districts following “explosions in the capital.”
Fires broke out in an apartment building in Shevchenkivsky district and in a non-residential building in the Podilsky district, he said, adding emergency services were on site.
A picture posted on the official Telegram by Kyiv’s military administration showed a room in a high-rise building with part of its wall blown out, in what it said was the result of falling debris in Darnytsky district.
‼️At least two civilians were injured as a result of the Russian nighttime drone attack on #Kyiv.
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) July 12, 2023
The City Administration published photos of the consequences of falling drone debris. pic.twitter.com/IBjOj3gGv0
Ukraine’s Air Force said on Thursday morning it had downed 20 Russian attack drones and two cruise missiles during the attack.
Spokesperson Yuriy Ignat, said: “We have a successful air defense operation. Twenty Shaheds were destroyed – all those flying were shot down.
“Two Kalibr cruise missiles were also destroyed.”
Ukraine's Air Force has warned that the threat of attacks by Russian drones on the city remains.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
Comments ( 1)
What a disgrace NATO has proven to be, including the US. The organization was created in 1949 for one purpose: "...to secure peace in Europe, to promote cooperation among its members and to guard their freedom – all of this in the context of countering the threat posed at the time by the Soviet Union." Since then, the NATO fold has grown, seeking group protection, and clearly so has the threat – the present Russian Federation ruled by de facto dictator Vladimir Putin.
Russia's second invasion of Ukraine is everyone's problem, not just Ukraine’s. But US and NATO politicians don't want to fully admit this. They readily send Ukraine taxpayer money from their respective countries, yet this is a band-aid and a pretense to appease both Ukraine and Putin. Such fools and cowards...
No intelligent person invites war and destruction, yet Ukraine doesn't have the choice of "opting out of war". It is currently under attack, even as NATO leaders meet in Vilnius, and continue to opt out of direct confrontation with Russia. These are the actions of despicable politicians, not true leaders who have integrity, courage, and conviction to do what it takes to preserve and protect all human life.
I suspect Putin is laughing at NATO and the US, just as his latest round of rockets and drones fly toward Kyiv to lay further waste on this sovereign nation. My Ukrainian friends, I am truly ashamed by my country and the façade that NATO has become.