- Tens of thousands of Russians on the run <unk> Two dead in Kiev attacks
A nighttime Russian rocket attack near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv resulted in the deaths of two individuals. According to the Ukrainian emergency service on Sunday, the victims were a man and his four-year-old son. AFP journalists reported explosions in the center and east of Kyiv late on Saturday night. The Ukrainian air force reported on the Telegram online service that two Russian rockets were heading towards the capital. Meanwhile, the governor of the Russian border region of Kursk reported 13 injured in the city of Kursk following a Ukrainian air strike.
An AFP reporter reported that warning sirens were blaring in Kyiv. At least two flashes were visible in the night sky. The Kyiv military administration reported on Telegram that the city's air defense systems had been activated to repel the attacks.
Parts of a rocket fell on residential buildings in the Kyiv suburb of Brovary, according to the state emergency service. A 35-year-old man and his four-year-old son were found dead in the rubble of a building during search and rescue operations. Three others were seriously injured.
According to the Ukrainian air force, other Ukrainian regions were also affected by Russian air strikes. There were drone attacks in five other regions, the air force reported.
Russia launches massive drone and rocket attacks on cities in Ukraine almost every night, which has been defending itself against the invasion since February 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been urging allies for weeks to quickly deliver new air defense systems.
Further Russian air strikes on Ukraine were expected in response to the advance of the Ukrainian army in the Russian border region of Kursk. Around 20,000 people were evacuated from the Sumy region bordering Kursk, according to government figures.
Russian and Ukrainian troops have been fighting in the border area for the fifth day in a row. Since the start of their offensive on Tuesday, the Ukrainian army has reportedly advanced several dozen kilometers into the Kursk region, according to independent observers. President Zelensky spoke about the offensive for the first time in his evening address on Saturday, saying that Kyiv was trying to "shift the war to Russia".
Kyiv had remained silent about the offensive for several days, but Zelensky said that Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky had "reported on the front, our actions, and the shift of the war to the territory of the aggressor". The Ukraine is proving that it can "achieve justice and put pressure on the aggressor". The USA, Kyiv's closest ally, had stated that they had not been informed in advance about the operation.
At other front sections, Ukraine reported the lowest number of "military engagements" on its territory since June 10 on Saturday. This could be seen as a sign that the advance in Kursk is relieving other front sections where the Russian army had recently increased pressure.
In light of Ukraine's advance into Kursk, local authorities on the Russian side report evacuating over 76,000 people. Additional trains to the capital, Moscow, and humanitarian aid to the border region were deployed for the evacuees. "The war has reached us," said a woman upon her arrival at Moscow's railway station.
Meanwhile, a nighttime Ukrainian airstrike, according to regional governor Alexei Smirnov, injured 13 people in the city of Kursk on Saturday night, two severely. The residents were injured when debris from a downed Ukrainian missile hit a building.
Previously, Russian authorities announced the start of anti-terror operations in the border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk. Security forces and the military are granted extensive powers, limiting civilian movement, seizing vehicles, intercepting phone calls, and blocking access to certain areas. The Russian state anti-terrorism committee stated on Friday that Ukraine had launched an "unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation in several regions of our country."
The President of the Council issued a statement condemning the nighttime Russian rocket attack in Kyiv, expressing deep concern for the civilian casualties. During a meeting with international leaders, he urged for increased support to Ukraine to strengthen its air defense systems.
