Russia launched a new aerial bombardment of Ukraine on Monday, its third in a week, as it targeted the capital Kyiv and other cities on the first day of the school year.
The massive assault came around 5:30 a.m. after a countrywide air alert, although Ukrainian officials said the number of casualties was limited and property damage minor. But an attack Sunday night on an orphanage in the northeastern city of Sumy wounded two children and 11 adults, according to Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has attacked Russia with drones aimed at refineries and electrical plants, including one near Moscow on Sunday that caused fires and other damage.
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down nine ballistic missiles. In all, Ukraine said Moscow’s forces had launched 58 missiles and one-way attack drones targeting Ukraine sites.
Fighting also raged on near the eastern Ukraine city of Pokrovsk, where Russia has gained territory in recent weeks. In the latest fighting, Ukraine’s general staff said that Russian troops had attacked 63 times in the past day.
In Kyiv, Serhii Popko, the head of the city’s military administration, said on Telegram that Russia launched a drone along with more than 10 cruise missiles and 10 ballistic missiles aimed at the city.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said falling debris from intercepts made by Ukrainian air defenses injured at least two people.
The Russian attack also damaged a boiler house at a water plant and the entrance to a subway station that is used as a bomb shelter.
The governors of the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Poltava regions said Monday that air defenses shot down Russian drones over their regions, while the governor of Cherkasy said a missile was destroyed in the region’s skies.
Russia said Monday it shot down two Ukrainian drones, including one over the Belgorod region and another over the Black Sea.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that Ukrainian forces hit multiple districts, damaging a commercial facility as well as several homes. At least one person was injured, he said.
Some information for this report came from Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
