Ukraine mourns dead in missile attack near Kiev
The people of Kyiv have once again endured a restless night. According to air defense, Russia has again targeted the capital region with rockets, resulting in deaths and injuries. Russia also reports casualties on its own territory.
The Kyiv region has again been the target of a Russian rocket attack, according to Ukrainian reports. As a result, a 35-year-old man and his four-year-old son were killed in a suburb of Kyiv, the state emergency service reported. Three others were seriously injured.
Rocket debris fell on private homes in Brovary east of Kyiv on Saturday evening, the rescuers reported on Telegram. The father and son were trapped under the rubble of a building. The information could not be independently verified.
Several explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital late Saturday night, including in the city center. The Ukrainian air force reported on Telegram that two Russian rockets were heading towards the capital. At least two flashes were seen in the night sky, according to an AFP reporter. The Kyiv military administration reported that the city's air defense systems had been activated to repel the attacks. No casualties or damage were initially reported.
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 said. Russia launches massive drone and rocket attacks on cities in Ukraine almost every night. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pressing allies for weeks to quickly deliver new air defense systems.
Renewed Russian air strikes were feared in response to the advance of the Ukrainian army in the Russian border region of Kursk. Ukrainian authorities said they had evacuated 20,000 people from the Sumy region bordering Kursk.
Meanwhile, the governor of the Russian border region of Kursk reported 13 injured in the city of Kursk as a result of a Ukrainian air strike. Two were seriously injured, Alexei Smirnov said. The residents were injured when debris from a downed Ukrainian rocket fell on a building. The information could not be independently verified.
In the face of the Ukrainian advance in the Kursk region, local authorities said they had brought more than 76,000 people to safety. Additional trains to the capital Moscow and humanitarian aid were brought to the border region. "The war has come to us," a woman said as she arrived at the Moscow train station.
Previously, Russian authorities had announced the start of anti-terrorist operations in the three border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk. Security forces and the army are granted wide-ranging powers. The freedom of movement of citizens is restricted, vehicles can be confiscated, telephone conversations can be intercepted, and certain areas can be closed off. The Russian state anti-terrorism committee had explained on Friday that Ukraine had started a "precedent-setting attempt to destabilize the situation in a number of regions in our country."
The Ukrainian air force reported drone attacks in five other regions aside from Kyiv. Russia launching drone and rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities almost every night has been a concerning pattern.
