Russia’s Largest Air Attack on Ukraine Sets Fire to Main Government Building

Reuters

Emergency workers extinguish a fire in an apartment building that was damaged during a Russian drone

Russia’s most extensive overnight air assault of the war ignited the main government building in Kyiv and left three people dead, including an infant whose body was recovered from the rubble, Ukrainian officials reported on Sunday.

“For the first time, the Government Building has been damaged by an enemy strike — its roof and upper floors,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“Rescuers are working to extinguish the fire.”

Ukraine’s Air Force stated on Telegram that Russia launched 805 drones and 13 missiles overnight. Ukrainian defence units downed 751 drones and four missiles.

This marks the largest number of drones deployed by Russia against Ukraine since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

State emergency officials confirmed that 18 people were injured during the attack, which sparked multiple fires across the capital.

Moscow has yet to comment on the strikes. Both sides continue to deny targeting civilians, though thousands have been killed since Russia launched its invasion in 2022.

Emergency officials said a blaze broke out in two of the four floors of a residential building in the district struck by the drone attack, leaving its structure partially destroyed.

In the western Sviatoshynskyi district, several floors of a nine-storey residential block were also partly destroyed, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko and emergency services.

Falling drone debris triggered further fires in a 16-storey apartment building and two additional nine-storey blocks, the mayor added.

Dozens of explosions also shook Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine, cutting power in some districts and damaging a bridge across the Dnipro River, the city’s mayor, Vitalii Maletskyi, said on Telegram.

Russian strikes on Kryvyi Rih, another central city, targeted transport and urban infrastructure, said Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the local military administration. No casualties were reported.

In the southern city of Odesa, civilian infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged, with fires breaking out in several apartment blocks, regional governor Oleh Kiper confirmed.

With western Ukraine under threat of further air raids, Poland activated its own and allied aircraft to ensure air safety, the Polish Armed Forces’ operational command announced.

Source: Reuters



PUKMEDIA