Kyiv, Ukraine. Russian air attacks on major Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv killed at least nine people and wounded more than 60 early on Tuesday, authorities said, after days of warnings that Moscow was preparing a major assault.
Deadly attacks in Dnipro and Kyiv
Five people were killed and 25 injured in a Russian missile and drone attack on the southeastern city of Dnipro, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram. He said all of the injured were in hospital in moderate condition and posted pictures of destroyed residential buildings, burnt-out vehicles and a damaged children’s playground.
At least four people were killed and 51 injured, including children, across the capital of Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He said a suspected missile strike on a 24-storey apartment building caused a collapse, leaving people probably trapped under the rubble.
Klitschko said a nine-storey apartment block was among other buildings set ablaze by suspected missile debris. He also said that in the Obolon district, cars were burning after being hit by falling missile debris, and that fires broke out at two locations in open areas, including one near a kindergarten.
Shelter in the capital
Thousands of residents went into the Kyiv subway system early on Tuesday to take shelter, witnesses said, some carrying belongings and mattresses, as the sound of air defence systems repelling Russian attacks filled the air.
Warnings of further assault
Air raid warnings sounded over much of the country early on Tuesday after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated warnings the previous day that Russia might be planning a major attack. Russia has targeted Ukraine’s power supply and infrastructure while Ukraine has stepped up attacks this year on Russian oil facilities in the war, which is now more than four years old.
