KYIV: As Kyiv prepares to celebrate its birthday on Sunday, Russia launched a significant two-wave overnight air strike on the Ukrainian capital, killing at least one person in the attack, according to officials.
According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, air defence systems shot down at least 20 drones that were headed for Kyiv, with the falling debris killing a 41-year-old male and wounding a 35-year-old woman in the city.
On the last Sunday in May, the capital celebrates Kyiv Day, marking the day of the city’s formal creation 1,541 years ago. Street festivals, live performances, and special museum displays celebrate the day every year and preparations for all of these events have been planned this year as well, but on a lower scale.
According to Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, “the history of Ukraine is a long-standing irritant for the insecure Russians”.
Officials said that many areas of Kyiv, by far the largest city in Ukraine with a population of almost 3 million, including the storied Pecherskyi quarter, were affected by the overnight attacks.
According to Reuters witnesses, several people gathered on their balconies during the air raid alarms that began just after midnight, some yelling insults at Russian President Vladimir Putin and “Glory to air defence” chants.
Moscow has increased missile and drone strikes this month, after a calm of nearly two months, targeting military sites and supplies as a Ukrainian counteroffensive looms 15 months into the war. Attack waves now occur numerous times every week.
According to Mayor Klitschko, falling debris in Kyiv’s green Holosiivskyi neighbourhood ignited a three-story warehouse, damaging roughly 1,000 square metres (10,800 square feet) of building structures.
In the Solomyanskyi neighbourhood, west of the city, a seven-story non-residential structure was struck by falling drone debris, which caused a fire to start. The area is a bustling rail and airport transportation hub.
According to Kyiv’s military administration authorities, a fire started on the roof of a nine-story building in the Pecherskyi neighbourhood as a result of falling drone debris.
