Russia launched over three dozen drones at Kyiv early Sunday, causing explosives to reverberate across the Ukrainian capital and surrounding region for around two hours and debris to fall across multiple city districts, according to Ukrainian officials.
Explosions from air defenses engaging targets lit the night sky, and bangs could be heard throughout the city. At least one smoke plume was seen rising from between buildings.
Liudmyla, a Kyiv resident, claimed she heard the buzzing of the Iranian-made drones before a blast wave broke her building’s windows and the jars on her ledge. “It was a very frightening experience – I can’t even put it into words.”
The state emergency service reported that debris had fallen in three different districts, but there was no serious damage. Kyiv officials also said four people were wounded.
Regional Governor Ruslan Kravchenko wrote on Facebook that an unspecified infrastructure facility and eight houses had been damaged by the overnight strikes.
Ukraine’s air force said the military destroyed 26 out of 33 drones launched by Russia, all of which targeted Kyiv and the region around it.
There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attacks. Moscow has conducted regular air strikes on Ukrainian population centres far from the eastern and southern front lines of its 18-month-old invasion.
A Russian attack killed 17 people on Wednesday in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian officials said.