One dead in new wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine

KIEV: The Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down more than 20 drones in a new Russian air raid on Kiev early Tuesday (May 30), killing at least one person after an apartment building was hit and set on fire. Four people were said to have been injured.

The Kiev military government said only Iranian-made Shahid drones were used in the attack, and no missiles, as had been the case in most previous raids.

“A massive attack!” Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the messaging app Telegram. “Please do not leave the shelter.”

One person was killed and four injured when debris from a destroyed Russian projectile struck a high-rise apartment building and set it on fire, Ukrainian officials said.

A military administration official in Kiev said on the messaging app Telegram that the top two floors of the building had been destroyed and that there could still be people under the rubble.

Photos from Kiev officials and witnesses to Reuters showed the building’s top floor in flames and smoke rising from the roof.

“The attack was massive, carried out in several waves from different directions,” Kiev’s military chief Serhiy Popko said in a telegram.

Debris hit several other districts of the capital, including the historic Podil and Pechersky districts. It was not immediately clear how many drones Russia had launched, and there was no immediate comment from the Russian government.

In May, Russia launched repeated attacks on the Ukrainian capital using a combination of drones and missiles, mostly at night, in a bid to discourage Ukrainians after more than 15 months of war.

Tuesday’s strike was Russia’s 17th air raid on the capital this month, after two attacks on two days. Mondayincluding an unusual daytime strike.

Ukraine has taken an unusual acknowledgment of damage to a military “target”, announcing on Monday that five aircraft were grounded after a runway was damaged in the western Khmelnytsky region.

Russian state news agency RIA, citing the Defense Ministry, reported that several air bases had been attacked. There was no confirmation from Ukraine of damage to other air bases.

Ukrainian officials said most of the drones and missiles fired on Sunday and Monday had been shot down, praised by President Volodymyr Zelensky. US-supplied Patriot anti-missile defense.

“when patriots In the hands of the Ukrainians, 100 percent interception of all Russian missiles will be guaranteed and terrorism will be defeated,” Zelensky said in a video speech Monday night.