Kyiv: The central Shevchenkivskyi district of Ukraine’s capital was rocked by blasts early on Monday for the second time in a week, with Mayor Vitalii Klitshchko saying several residential buildings were damaged.
Three explosions were heard successively at around 06:35, 06:45 and 06:58 (05:35, 05:45 and 05:58 CET). The air raid sirens had sounded shortly before the first explosion. The capital has been attacked by “kamikaze drones”, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s staff, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Last Monday, Russian bombings on a scale not seen for months hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, killing at least 19 people and injuring 105 others.
Shevchenkivskiy district, a busy hub with universities, student bars and restaurants, was hit by several explosions last week when Russia ordered the biggest aerial offensive against Ukrainian cities in retaliation for a blast on a bridge linking mainland Russia to Crimea.
Meanwhile, intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces was taking place around two towns in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Bakhmut and Soledar, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
Bakhmut has been a target of Russia’s armed forces in their slow move through the region since taking the key industrial towns of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk in June and July.