Russia strikes central Kyiv with ‘kamikaze drones’

Several explosions were reported around Kyiv on Monday morning, a week after Russia last attacked the Ukrainian capital.

Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said on Telegram that the city was attacked by kamikaze drones. Multiple people in Kyiv said on social media that they heard noises that are characteristic of the unmanned devices before the explosions.

In a Telegram post, Zelenskyy said: “The enemy can attack our cities, but it won’t be able to break us. The occupiers will get only fair punishment and condemnation of future generations. And we will get victory.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said buildings in the central Shevchenkivskyi district had been set alight by the explosions. He posted a picture on Telegram of what he said was the wreckage of a drone, which looks like one of the Iranian-made Shaheds reportedly acquired by Russia. EU foreign ministers are on Monday set to discuss potential sanctions against Iran over the transfer of drones to Russia.

Russia also appears to have targeted “critical infrastructure facilities” in Romny, near the northeastern city of Sumy, according to Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, the regional governor. “There are victims,” he said on Telegram.

Russia previously hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities last week with strikes, in what were seen as revenge attacks after Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive and a fiery blast on the Kerch Bridge linking Russian-occupied Crimea with mainland Russia.