ALBAWABA - Ukrainian officials said that early Friday, Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Kyiv. This caused fires and debris to spread across several areas of the capital. The Russian Defense Ministry, on the other hand, said it had shot down more than 200 Ukrainian drones overnight. Officials in Ukraine said that three people died and 26 were hurt in the attacks on Kyiv.
Officials said that falling debris and fires that followed damaged high-rise apartment buildings, a school, a hospital, and government offices in several neighborhoods in the city of about three million people.
Tymur Tkachenkov, the head of Kyiv's military administration, wrote on Telegram: "The Russians are going after homes. Many multi-story apartment buildings have been hit, almost in every district.
Tkachenkov also said that the heating system in Kyiv had been damaged, which cut off service to one neighborhood. He said that there could be problems with the supply of water and electricity. The regional governor of Zaporizhzhia said that heavy Russian shelling killed four people.
Ukrainian Drone Attacks
In response, Russia's Defense Ministry said that overnight it had shot down and destroyed 216 Ukrainian drones.
The ministry said in a Telegram post:
"Air defense systems shot down and destroyed 216 Ukrainian drones, 66 of which were over Krasnodar and 45 of which were over Saratov in southern Russia."
Russian officials said that the drones hurt a ship, some homes, and an oil storage facility at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. They also said that three crew members were hurt in the attack.
The regional operations command in Krasnodar says that the injured crew members are getting care in the hospital. The command also said that pieces of the drone hit at least four apartments, breaking windows but not hurting anyone.
The attack also caused a fire at an oil depot in a shipping complex, which emergency crews later put out. There were also reports of damage to buildings along the coast, but no more details were given.
The Conflict Gets Worse
Russia's attack on Ukraine, which started in 2022, is still moving forward in the east, especially in Donetsk, where most of the recent fighting has taken place.
In the past few weeks, Moscow has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine's civilian and energy infrastructure, as well as its railroads, as temperatures have dropped in preparation for winter.
At the same time, Ukrainian drone attacks have been hitting Russia's oil, gas, and pipeline infrastructure more and more, which has stopped the flow of energy and caused fuel prices to go up around the world.
