KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a missile and a barrage of drones targeting the Ukrainian capital before dawn on Wednesday, leaving at least two people dead, Ukrainian officials said.
Eight people were also wounded in the attack, including four children, the Kyiv City Military Administration said in a post on Telegram.
The attack came ahead of a planned unilateral 72-hour ceasefire in the more than three-year war announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with celebrations in Moscow marking Victory Day in World War II. Ukraine has unsuccessfully sought a longer and immediate truce.
The Kremlin said the truce, ordered on “humanitarian grounds,” would start on Thursday and last through Saturday to mark Moscow’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
At least one ballistic missile and 28 Russian drones were recorded in the airspace of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the administration said. Air Defense forces shot down the missile and 11 drones.
A five-story residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district was hit by drone debris, sparking a fire in several apartments where the victims were found, he said. Four people, including three children, were hospitalized, while others received treatment on site.
In the Sviatoshynskyi district, fire broke out across multiple upper-floor apartments of a nine-story building after drone debris impact, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. Five people were rescued from the blaze, which spanned 100 square meters.
In Dniprovskyi district, the upper floors of a high-rise were partially destroyed by a drone strike, but no injuries were reported. In Solomianskyi, a ballistic missile was intercepted by air defense, with the warhead falling and damaging non-residential infrastructure. One person was injured in that strike.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the attack. Russian officials reported shooting down tens of Ukrainian drones overnight, with local Gov. Alexander Bogmaz writing on social media that more than 140 airborne targets had been destroyed over Russia’s Bryansk region.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that local air defenses had repelled an attack by nine drones close to the Russian capital, just hours after the city’s major airports were forced to ground flights due to concerns over aerial strikes.
Drone attacks were also reported over the Tula region, where officials reported five drone attacks, and the Yaroslavl region, where local leader Gov. Mikhail Evraev said three drones had been destroyed.
In the city of Saransk, 630 kilometers (390 miles) east of Moscow, officials announced Wednesday that kindergartens, schools, colleges and universities would close temporarily. The message came shortly after local Gov. Artem Zdunov warned residents about a potential drone threat over the city. Local officials also posted warnings on social media against sharing photos and videos that showed the fallout from drone strikes.
Victory Day celebrates the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and is Russia’s biggest secular holiday. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and others will gather in the Russian capital on Thursday for the 80th anniversary and watch a parade featuring thousands of troops accompanied by tanks and missiles.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry urged foreign countries not to send military representatives to take part in the parade, as some have in the past. None is officially confirmed for this year’s event.
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