The Ukrainian capital was attacked by drones on Monday morning, the Kyiv city military administration said, urging the population to be ready to take refuge. The country is suffering from power, water and electricity cuts, which the government is attempting. to restore, in the midst of war.
“The enemy is attacking the capital,” the administration wrote on Telegram on Monday. At this point, nine “enemy” drones have already been shot down in Kyiv’s airspace, he added. She specifies that Russian forces carried out barrage fire, using Iranian “Shahed” drones, used in the bombardment of Kyiv in recent weeks.
Two air alerts
The city administration issued a first air alert at 01:56 local time (23:56 GMT) that lasted just over three hours. A second alert was issued at 05:24 (03:24 GMT), and it was canceled within half an hour. When the sirens of such alerts sound, the population is summoned to take shelter.
Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, confirmed on Monday that “explosions” had taken place in the capital.
“Several explosions were heard in the Solomianskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts of the capital,” it said. All the actors “are (currently) working on the ground. More details (to be given) later.”
Ukraine has been the target of numerous deadly airstrikes by Russian forces in the past ten months since the invasion in February.
Russian strikes on electrical infrastructure
Faced with a series of military setbacks this fall, Russia has since October opted for a massive bombing tactic to destroy power grids and transformers, plunging millions of civilians into cold and darkness in the dead of winter.
The Russian Defense Ministry says these attacks target military and energy facilities in Ukraine, and disrupt “the transfer of foreign-produced weapons and ammunition.”
After a large-scale attack on several cities on Friday, involving more than 70 missiles, the national power operator was forced to impose emergency outages to repair the damaged power grid.
In the capital, people took refuge in metro stations for warmth and shelter as officials scrambled to restore power.
Towards a Moscow offensive?
According to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Sunday night electricity was restored to some 9 million inhabitants.
Last week, Voldymyr Zelensky’s Western allies pledged another billion euros in emergency aid. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is due to announce the delivery of a large quantity of artillery ammunition to Ukraine on Monday, during a meeting with leaders from northern Europe, the Baltics and the Netherlands in Latvia.
Several Ukrainian military officials have warned that Moscow is preparing a major winter offensive, with the aim of seizing the capital.
Source: BFM TV
