• Tuesday, 05 November 2024

Fires and damage in Kiev after Russian drone attacks

Fires and damage in Kiev after Russian drone attacks

Kiev, 2 November 2024 (dpa/MIA) - In renewed Russian airstrikes, houses in six districts of the Ukrainian capital Kiev have been damaged by debris from drones shot down by air defences overnight on Friday into Saturday.

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko spoke of at least two people being injured in the wave of attacks in a post on his Telegram channel.

The military administration in Kiev announced that several fires had been extinguished. One police officer had suffered smoke inhalation.

In one house, a fire broke out on the 15th and 16th floors and 18 people were brought to safety. According to authorities, several cars were also damaged.

People in the Ukrainian capital had been on air raid alert for more than five hours overnight, lasting into the morning on Saturday.

Explosions could be heard as a result of the drones being intercepted. Air defences reportedly managed to destroy all incoming objects.

The air defence reported a total of 71 Russian drone attacks across Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the latest attacks as acts of Russian terror against the civilian population.

He said the attacks were proof that the pressure on Russia and its accomplices was not enough.

From 4 am (0200 GMT), other regions of Ukraine, including Sumy and Kharkiv on the border with Russia, were also attacked from the air.

Zelensky thanked the air defence forces, which have been shooting down drones every night during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which was launched in February 2022.

Photo: archive