Ukraine: Three including two children killed in Russia’s attack on Kiev

Russia launched an air raid on Kiev early Thursday, killing at least three people, including two children, and sparking panic in Ukraine’s capital after a week of attacks.

The Kiev military administration said Thursday’s attack, which began around 3 a.m. local time (0000 GMT), killed two children and wounded ten people.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on Telegram that “according to the first reports of rescuers, three dead and four wounded were found in Desnyansky district, including two children.”

Several Russian missiles were fired in the direction of Ukraine’s capital this week and an unusual daytime attack on the city on Monday prompted residents to take cover.

“All detected air targets were destroyed by the army and our air defenses,” the Kiev military administration said on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, the falling debris is causing loss of life and property,” he said.

According to the same source, citing initial reports, the weapons used in Thursday’s attack are cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

– Children were evacuated –

Russia said on Wednesday it was evacuating hundreds of children from villages due to increased shelling in the border region of Belgorod, where the situation was deemed “dangerous” by the Kremlin.

On Wednesday evening, at least two people were injured in the Russian town of Shebekino after a shelling by the Ukrainian military, the region’s governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

“The night is still tense for Shebekino. Ukrainian troops shelled the town for an hour,” he wrote on a telegram, adding that one of the two wounded was in serious condition.

More than a year after the start of its military campaign in Ukraine, Russia has seen an increase in attacks on its soil, with an unprecedented invasion of the southern region of Belgorod last week and a drone strike on Moscow on Tuesday.

“The issue of child safety is very important in these two districts,” Gladkov said. “All of us adults are very concerned,” he said.

Russia’s admission of concern comes at a time when Moscow appears unable to stop attacks on its soil, and Ukraine prepares for a retaliatory strike against Russian forces.

Tensions between Russia and the West escalated further on Wednesday, when Germany announced it would significantly reduce Moscow’s diplomatic presence on its soil in response to a similar move by the Kremlin.

Moscow called Germany’s decision “hasty” and promised to respond.

Russian authorities have recently decided, until June, to limit the number of people Germany can send or employ at its embassy or institutions operating in Russia, forcing hundreds of German citizens to leave. May have to be.

– Ukrainian ship destroyed –

On Tuesday, Russian authorities, for their part, announced that they had neutralized eight drones that had managed to reach the capital Moscow and its region, located 500 km from Ukraine. Two people were slightly injured when debris fell on apartment buildings.

Last week, the Belgorod region was the scene of a massive offensive, in which dozens of heavily armed men from across Ukraine spread terror for two days before being driven out by the Russians’ aviation and artillery.

Since then, border areas in the Belgorod region have been bombed daily.

On Wednesday, a drone also fell within the perimeter of an oil refinery in Ilsky in the Krasnodar Territory (South), without casualties or damage, local authorities announced.

The same refinery had already been targeted by two drone strikes in early May that caused a fire.

In Ukraine, five people were killed and 19 wounded in a shelling by Kiev forces in an area held by Russian troops in the Lugansk region (east), Moscow-installed officials announced.

In addition, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that Moscow had this week destroyed the “last” Ukrainian warship that is still operational.

Asked by AFP, Oleg Tchalik, a spokesman for the Ukrainian naval forces, did not make a formal denial, but called on Russian sources to “not pay attention”.