On Monday morning, air raid sirens wailed, residents raced to bomb shelters, and explosions shook buildings in Kyiv as the Russian assault on the Ukrainian capital intensified.
The surge of potent explosions struck central Kyiv at 11:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. EST), shortly after an air alert sounded throughout the capital, giving residents little time to seek shelter.
Russia Strikes Kyiv in DayLight
The city was rocked by a series of deafening explosions that shook the window panes of structures in the center of the nation's capital.
During the morning explosions, a video shared by journalist Liz Cookman on Twitter showed children fleeing and shrieking through the street. She stated that falling debris in the Podil neighborhood caused a minor fire, as per NBC News.
Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, stated that eleven land-based ballistic and cruise missiles were fired at the Kyiv area. All were destroyed, he stated.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces attacked Ukrainian airfields with "long-range precision-guided air-launched munitions." It did not explicitly address the attacks on Kyiv.
Debris from intercepted missiles landed on roads and parks in Kyiv's central and northern districts, according to the city's military administration. It added that at least one civilian was injured. The daytime assault heightened the residents' sense of unease, which was already high after weeks of nocturnal attacks by Russian drones and missiles.
According to Ukrainian officials, they have altered the timing of bombardments, the combination of weapons used, and the trajectories of missiles and drones to avoid detection, most recently flying them low along riverbeds and through valleys.
Russia is attempting to "confuse and delude" our air defense system, Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine's Air Force Command, said during a weekend television appearance. It uses the topography of the location to avoid radar detection.
According to Ukrainian officials, eleven ballistic missiles aimed at Ukraine were intercepted on Monday. However, detritus from the aerial collisions caused fires and other damage as horrified Ukrainians looked to the clear blue skies of their densely populated city to see an explosive battle unfolding.
A video widely disseminated on social media by Ukrainian officials showed schoolchildren carrying backpacks fleeing in panic after the explosions reverberated on a city street. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko issued a warning to residents via the Telegram messaging app not to abandon sanctuaries, NY Times reported.
Klitschko added that about 20 inhabitants of a high-rise building in Kyiv were evacuated early Tuesday morning after falling detritus from a destroyed Russian-launched air target ignited a fire.
According to the mayor, one individual perished, and a woman was injured due to the falling detritus. A second casualty was reported as a result of the missile attack, but details were not immediately available. The Ukrainian government immediately condemned the bombardment.
Serhii Popko, the director of the Kyiv region's military administration, said in a statement that Russian forces "attacked a tranquil city during the day, when most residents were at work and on the streets."
Ukrainian officials have expressed concern that their Soviet-era anti-aircraft defenses are running out of ammunition and that Western systems, such as the American Patriot, are not reaching in sufficient quantities to fill the void.
Russia Attacks Other Ukraine Territories
On Monday, Kyiv was not the only target. An airfield in the western region of Khmelnytskyi was also attacked. The regional governor reported that five aircraft had been "disabled," and a fuel depot had caught fire.
A drone was brought down over Odessa, causing falling detritus to ignite the port. According to reports, rockets and drones were intercepted over the regions of Lviv, Kirovohrad, Poltava, and Mykolaiv. According to Pavlo Kyrylenko, nine communities or villages were targeted in the Ukrainian-held Donetsk region, including the city of Kramatorsk.
The Russian defense ministry claimed to have targeted Ukrainian airbases but did not mention the almost daily attacks on Ukrainian cities.
The governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, reported that Ukrainian forces had opened fire on several Russian settlements. When asked on Russian television how he believed Belgorod could be made secure, Vyachesla Gladkov suggested annexing Kharkiv, as per Guardian.