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Kyiv was reported to be under attack Monday as the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces were using “kamikaze drones” against Ukraine’s capital city.
In a statement, Andrii Yermak, head of the office of the president, confirmed explosions in Kyiv and said using drones as munitions will backfire.
He called for more air defense aid from the West.
Speaking on social media platform Telegram, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a Russian drone mission has resulted in fire in a nonresidential building in the city’s central Shevchenkiv District.
Multiple other buildings have been damaged, Klitschko said, and medics were on the ground assessing the number and conditions of casualties.
Speaking on Twitter, the mayor said air raid alerts across the city were in effect and would continue. He urged residents to find shelter and stay there.
Alexander Kamyshin, CEO of state-owned rail service, said the attacks had reached an area near Kyiv’s main train station, but he said trains were still moving on-time.
For now, he tweeted, passengers were safe.
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On Friday Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had no plans “for now” to continue the kind of massive air strikes his military unleashed last week across the country.
The attacks were framed by the leader as revenge for a blast that interrupted his signature bridge from Russia to the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
The aerial aggression inspired renewed support from Kyiv’s Western allies. The United States will send a new wave of military aid that’s expected to include missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons, the Pentagon announced Friday.
Last week President Joe Biden also vowed in a phone call with Zelenskyy to provide Ukraine with the advanced air defense systems it desperately wants in order to fend off attacks like Monday’s.
The White House was previously reluctant to put the technology in play in Ukraine, fearing it would be seen by Russia as a step closer to direct involvement in the war.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Beatrice Guzzardi, Anastasiia Parafeniuk and Daryna Mayer contributed.
