Kyiv, Jan 18: Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital with a barrage of drones and missiles on Saturday, leaving at least four people dead, while industrial sites in Russia were set ablaze by Ukrainian strikes.
Russia launched 39 Shahed drones, other simulator drones and four ballistic missiles in the early hours of Saturday, according to Ukraine’s air force.
Ukrainian air defence forces shot down two missiles and 24 drones. A further 14 drone simulators were lost in location, a statement said.
Four people were killed after a shot-down missile fell over Shevchenkivskyi district, Kyiv City Military Administration head Timur Tkachenko said.
There was also falling debris in Desnyansky district, he said.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said in Shevchenkivskyi district, windows were broken and there was smoke at the entrance of a residential building, adding that a water supply pipeline was also damaged.
AP journalists at the scene saw a man lying dead amid the debris in a pool of blood. Water flooded the streets as firefighters put out the blaze from the attack.
Klitschko also said the Lukyanivska metro station was shuttered after the attacks damaged its glass entrance.
Drones and missiles were shot down across Ukraine, in the Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Donetsk regions.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian drone attacks on Saturday set ablaze industrial sites in Russia’s Kaluga and Tula regions, local officials said.
Russia’s defence ministry said that 46 Ukrainian drones were destroyed across the country overnight.
In the Kaluga region, a drone strike sparked a fire in the town of Lyudinovo, governor Vladislav Shapsha wrote on Telegram.
Residents claimed on social media that the attack targeted a local oil depot.
A fire was also reported in Tula region, where governor Dmitry Milyaev said a fuel storage tank had been set alight. He also warned residents to stay away from fallen drone debris.
No casualties were reported in either case. (AP)
