Russian Drone Attack Kills 3 in Kyiv Ahead of Cease-Fire Talks
At least three people were killed during a large Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s capital overnight, local officials said on Sunday, hours before U.S.-mediated talks to discuss a partial cease-fire were set to begin in Saudi Arabia.Multiple explosions shook the capital, Kyiv, overnight as air defense units fired at incoming drones.The Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia had launched nearly 150 drones across the country, and that it had shot down approximately 100.
The claim could not be independently verified.On Sunday morning, the local authorities in Kyiv said that some drones and debris from others that were shot down had fallen on several buildings in the city, sparking fires.Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said that three people were killed: A father and his 5-year-old daughter, as well as an 80-year-old woman.
At least 10 people were injured.The toll was unusually high for Kyiv, which is one of Ukraine’s best defended cities.In recent months, Russia has intensified attacks on the capital, aiming to overwhelm its air defenses with waves of drones.
Once a rarity, the buzz of attack drones flying over buildings can now be heard frequently in the center of the city, home to the presidential palace and parliament.Both Russia and Ukraine agreed last week to a cease-fire that would put a temporary halt to strikes on energy infrastructure.But the cease-fire has not yet taken effect, with details of how it will be implemented still to be ironed out during the talks in Saudi Arabia.In the meantime, dual air assaults have not abated, underscoring the deep mistrust between the two countries.
On Friday, both sides blamed the other for a strike on a Russian gas station near the Ukrainian border.The overnight attack on Kyiv came a day after officials said a mother, a father and their 17-year-old daughter had been killed in a Russian drone attack in Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukraine.“Russia is not stopping the fire, Putin wants to keep killing civilians, it must...