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A “massive” Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv and its surrounding areas killed at least four people and wounded more than a dozen others, Ukrainian officials said early on Tuesday.
The strikes came as children were set to return to school after the summer holidays, and as officials tightened security measures during fears of further Russian strikes.
“Kyiv region came under a massive attack by Russian missiles and strike drones tonight,” said Kyiv regional military administration chief Tymur Tkachenko in a post on Telegram.
Residents of the Ukrainian capital reported hearing more than a dozen loud explosions late on Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday, and saw flashes in the sky, after the country’s Air Force warned of incoming ballistic missiles.
“Sadly, 3 people were killed in the enemy attack on the capital,” the city military administration said, adding that more than five other people were reportedly wounded.
Strikes in Boryspil, east of Kyiv, damaged a business, leaving one person dead and another wounded, Tkachenko said, adding that eight more were wounded when a residential building was hit.
The Ukrainian air force had earlier warned that the threat of “ballistic weapons and other means of attack against Kyiv and the region remains in effect”, and urged residents to remain in shelters and to exercise caution until the warning is lifted.
Ukrainian children return to school on Tuesday, and the Kyiv regional military administration has warned there must be no large events in areas with a high level of risk.
Kyiv and its surrounding regions have come under sustained pressure from Russian aerial attacks in recent weeks, with jet-powered drones adding to the threat and triggering as many as a dozen air-raid alerts a day.
One weekend attack on an ammunition depot killed 38 people in the suburbs of the capital region.
Both sides have escalated long-range strikes in recent months, targeting infrastructure such as warehouses, businesses, and oil and port facilities, as well as ships, increasing civilian casualties.
Ukraine, which says it has been facing a critical shortage of interceptor missiles, particularly US-made Patriot systems used against ballistic threats, has been rallying allies for more support to bolster its aerial defences against such attacks, which it says have been nightly.
Additional sources • AFP