Russian drones struck Kyiv early Sunday, killing three people and wounding at least 30, including seven children, in the second straight overnight attack on Ukraine’s capital to claim civilian lives, authorities said.
Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said a 19-year-old woman and her 46-year-old mother were among those killed.
Russian drones caused fires in two residential buildings in the capital's Desnianskyi district. Emergency crews evacuated civilians from a nine-story and a 16-story building, put out flames and cleared the rubble.
Ihor Motchanyi, a soccer player at a local club, had just celebrated his 25th birthday the previous day. He said the attack felt like a second birthday, so narrowly did he escape death.
"I was asleep today, but the alarm went off and literally a couple of minutes later, a Shahed drone flew into the next room. I miraculously survived, my parents miraculously survived, so to speak, the apartment is gone, but the main thing is that we are safe and sound," he said, adding he was not certain if the drone hit the building or if it had been debris that was shot down.
"I was asleep, it’s a miracle that I survived," he said.
Olha Yevhenivha, 74, said there was so much smoke from the fire that she couldn’t leave her apartment.
"Even until now our windows are totally black from the smoke, and it was impossible to go down, so that’s why we put wet blankets on our doors and balcony," she said.
Russia attacked Ukraine with 101 drones overnight into Sunday, according to Ukraine's air force, of which 90 were shot down and neutralized. Five drones hit four locations and drone debris fell on five other places, the statement said.
The attack came a day after Russian missiles and drones killed four people, including two in Kyiv, prompting fresh pleas from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Western air defense systems.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, said the country had tested a new nuclear-capable and powered cruise missile fit to confound existing defenses, according to remarks released on Sunday.
