An overnight Russian drone attack on Kyiv killed three people and wounded dozens, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said Sunday.
The head of Kyiv’s military administration said early Sunday that “several” Russian drones were operating over the city and warned people to “remain in shelters.”
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said later that “according to preliminary information, three people died and 27 were wounded” in the attack. The wounded included six children, Klitschko wrote on Telegram.
He said drone fragments fell onto a nine-story residential building in the northeastern Desnyansky district, sparking fires in apartments on several floors. Fragments damaged another nine-floor block in the same district, where five people were rescued, he said.
More drone fragments fell on a sixteen-story residential block in the northern Obolonsky district, damaging an apartment, Klitschko said.
The strikes came a day after other Russian drone and missile strikes killed four and wounded around twenty others in Kyiv, according to Ukrainian authorities.
On Saturday, Russian overnight drone and missile strikes killed four people and wounded some twenty others in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and several other regions, authorities said. The attack comes as Kyiv’s Western allies ratchet up pressure on Russia as the war enters its fourth winter.
“One rescuer was killed and another wounded as a result of a repeated missile strike on the Petropavlivska community in the Dnipropetrovsk region,” the Internal Affairs Ministry said on social media. A woman was also killed and seven people were injured in the eastern region, the ministry added, reporting damage to fire trucks, residential buildings and shops.
Moscow also targeted Kyiv in Saturday’s attack, killing two people and wounding twelve others, Klitschko said. AFP journalists heard the distinctive whirring of missiles and powerful blasts at around four in the morning.
Emergency services shared photos of firefighters battling flames as major fires broke out in the Desnyansky and Darnytsky districts.
Russia fired nine Iskander-M ballistic missiles and sixty-two attack drones during Saturday’s attack, the Ukrainian air force said, adding it had downed four ballistic missiles and fifty drones.
On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump played down prospects of a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying he was “not going to be wasting my time.”
The remarks came as Kremlin negotiator Kirill Dmitriev met with Trump administration officials including special envoy Steve Witkoff, a Russian source familiar with the talks told AFP. The discussions were expected to continue Sunday.
The United States and the European Union announced new sanctions this week on Russian energy aimed at crippling Moscow’s war economy.
The consecutive days of deadly strikes on Kyiv represent an intensification of Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital as the conflict continues into its fourth winter. The targeting of residential buildings has drawn international condemnation and renewed calls for additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians.
The attacks come amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the war, though prospects for immediate breakthrough appear limited. Trump’s dismissal of near-term summit possibilities with Putin suggests significant gaps remain between the positions of the United States, Ukraine and Russia.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called for more advanced air defense systems from Western allies to counter the drone and missile threats. While Ukraine’s air defenses have improved significantly since the war began, the latest attacks demonstrate Russia’s continued ability to strike the capital with deadly effect.
The inclusion of children among the wounded in Sunday’s attack underscores the civilian toll of Russia’s continued aerial bombardment campaign. International humanitarian law prohibits attacks on civilian populations, though Russia has maintained its strikes target military infrastructure.
The war has now stretched beyond one thousand days since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Both sides have suffered significant casualties, though exact figures remain disputed and difficult to verify independently.
Western sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector aim to reduce Moscow’s ability to fund its military operations in Ukraine. However, the effectiveness of sanctions in changing Russian behavior remains a subject of debate among policymakers and analysts.
Emergency services in Kyiv have developed extensive experience responding to drone and missile attacks, with protocols for rapid evacuation and firefighting operations. The city’s population has adapted to life under regular air raid alerts, though the psychological toll of constant threat remains significant.
Source: themoscowtimes
