Massive Strike
A "massive" Russian attack killed at least eight people in Kyiv overnight, including seven at a railways depot, officials said Tuesday, as Moscow pressed its air campaign on the Ukrainian capital and surrounding areas. The strikes came as children were set to return to school after summer holidays and as authorities tightened security measures following weeks of intensified Russian attacks.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said eight people were killed and five wounded, including two children, in the overnight bombardment, which included ballistic missiles and drones. Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chief executive of Ukrainian Railways, said a missile hit a railway depot and other railway facilities. "The ballistic strike took the lives of 7 people, 6 of whom were our employees," he said, adding that another railway worker had been hospitalised. The attack caused "extensive destruction", including the complete destruction of a workshop, while fires continued to burn.
Sustained pressure
Russia's defence ministry said its forces had carried out a "massive strike" using long-range weapons and attack drones, targeting military-industrial and fuel and energy facilities. AFP journalists in the capital heard around a dozen loud explosions and saw flashes in the sky early Tuesday moments after the air force warned of incoming ballistic missiles.
Kyiv and its surrounding areas have come under sustained pressure from Russian drone attacks in recent weeks, with jet-powered drones adding to the threat and triggering as many as a dozen air-raid alerts a day. One weekend attack on an ammunition depot killed 38 people in the capital's suburbs. Ukraine faces a shortage of interceptor missiles, particularly US-made Patriot systems used against ballistic threats.