Ukraine repels large Russian missile and drone attack that injures civilians in Kyiv

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s air defense forces shot down 20 Iranian-made drones shot down by Russia mainly in the Kyiv region on Thursday night, but debris fell on four districts of the capital, injuring two people and destroying them. demolished some homes, officials said.

The latest assault by Kremlin forces began shortly after midnight and the explosions rocked different parts of the city. Authorities said two people were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds.

In the capital, rescuers extinguished fires in a 16-story building, as well as in a non-residential building, the Interior Ministry said. Debris also damaged the facade of a 25-story apartment building.

Russian strikes have become a grim part of everyday life in Ukraine for nearly 17 months of the war.

Volodymyr Motus, a 22-year-old resident of a 25-story building, carefully crossed the first floor of a demolished apartment, his footsteps accompanied by the sound of broken glass. The ramshackle furniture was covered with a thick layer of dust.

“I was in my apartment and suddenly I heard an explosion, that’s all. Then the alarm went off and I went down to the bunker.”

He said that some people were injured, but they were all alive.

In May, Russia launched dozens of drones and missiles at Kyiv almost every night, forcing its residents to spend the night in shelters. During the summer, attacks occur less frequently, but they still occur unpredictably across the country.

Ukraine’s human rights director Dmytro Lubinets wrote on Telegram, “It should be explained that each ‘air alarm’ in Ukraine is like playing Russian roulette… It is not clear how many people may be affected and whether or not it will be affected. surely from which part of Ukraine Bad News about the attack of enemy drones or missiles will come.”

The Ukrainian military said it also intercepted two Russian cruise missiles. The statement said a ballistic missile was not intercepted, although it did not explain the damage the missile caused.

The Khmelnytskyi regional government in western Ukraine reported that a cruise missile was intercepted in the area and there were no casualties. “We appreciate the meticulous work of the Ukrainian air defense forces,” the regional government wrote on Telegram.

Recently, a Russian cruise missile hit an apartment building west of the city of Lviv, killing 10 people and injuring dozens more. And in the southern and eastern regions of the country, where fierce front-line fighting is taking place, the intensity of missile attacks has remained high since the beginning of the war.

___

See the full AP coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

___

Associated Press journalist Felipe Dana in Kyiv contributed to this report.