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Kyiv: Powerful explosions ripped through Kyiv before dawn on Tuesday (Ukraine time), the third aerial bombardment targeting the Ukrainian capital in 24 hours.
The buzzing of drones and loud explosions were heard as Ukrainian air defence destroyed more than 20 Shahed drones in Kyiv’s airspace, according to preliminary data from the city’s military administration.
Ukrainian air defence intercepts a Shahed drone mid-air above Kyiv on Tuesday,Credit: AP
The attack came one day after a rare daylight attack that petrified residents and school children, forcing them into underground train stations and shelters.
Russian forces fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv at about 11.30am on Monday (Ukraine time), according to Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. All of the missiles were shot down, Zaluzhnyi said.
Debris from the intercepted missiles fell in Kyiv’s central and northern districts during the morning, landing in the middle of traffic on a city road and also starting a fire on the roof of a building, the Kyiv military administration said. At least one civilian was reported injured.
The Russian Defence Ministry said it launched a series of strikes early on Monday targeting Ukrainian air bases with precision long-range air-launched missiles. The strikes destroyed command posts, radars, aircraft and ammunition stockpiles, it claimed. It didn’t say anything about hitting cities or other civilian areas.
People shelter in a Kyiv subway station during Russian missiles attack on Monday.Credit: Getty
On Tuesday one person died, three were injured when a high-rise building in the Holosiiv district caught fire. The two upper floors are destroyed, and there may be people under the rubble, it said. More than 20 people were evacuated.
Elsewhere in the capital, falling debris caused a fire in a private house in the Darnytskyi district and three cars were set alight in the Pechersky district.
Ukrainians inspect their office damaged in a drone attack on Kyiv on Sunday.Credit: AP
Meanwhile, the Russian Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for US senator Lindsey Graham following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine.
In an edited video of his meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released by Zelensky’s office, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that “the Russians are dying” and described the US military assistance to the country as “the best money we’ve ever spent”.
While Graham appeared to have made the remarks in different parts of the conversation, the short video by the Ukrainian presidential office put them next to each other, causing outrage in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “it’s hard to imagine a greater shame for the country than having such senators”.
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham is wanted by Russia.Credit: AP
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top criminal investigation agency, has moved to open a criminal inquiry against Graham, and the Interior Ministry followed up by issuing a warrant for his arrest as indicated by its official record of wanted criminal suspects.
Graham is among more than 200 members of US Congress who the Kremlin banned from entering Russia last year.
Graham commented on Twitter, saying that “to know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime brings me immense joy”.
“I will continue to stand with and for Ukraine’s freedom until every Russian soldier is expelled from Ukrainian territory,” he tweeted. “I will wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin’s corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor.”
AP, Reuters
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