Ukrainian officials say Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian officials say the wave of Russian drone and missile strikes killed at least eight people in two major Ukrainian cities early Tuesday morning.
Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said one person was killed and four were injured in the southern port city of Odesa. During the attack, pregnant women's hospitals and residential buildings in the city center were also damaged.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people were injured in the Ukrainian capital. Associated Press reporters heard explosions earlier Tuesday, including the buzzing of drones in different parts of the city.
The new wave of Russian attacks comes hours after Moscow launched nearly 500 drones in Ukraine during the Three Years’ War. Ukrainian and Western officials have been looking forward to Russia's response to Ukraine's bold June 1 drone attack on a distant Russian air base.
Smoke can be seen in Kyiv as the Chinese Defense Forces shot down drones and missiles on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, during the hours-long attack, Ukrainian residents slept in the subway station. Nina Nosivets, 32, is included in her 8-month-old son Levko.
She said: “I just tried not to think about all of this, curl silently like a mouse, wait until everything passes, attacks. Somehow distracts the child, because it is probably the most unbearable thing he has.”
Krystyna Semak, 37, a resident of Keefe, said the explosion scared her and she ran to the subway on a carpet at 2 a.m.
Russia has been launching record-breaking drones and missiles against Ukraine, while the two countries continue to swap prisoners of war, the only tangible result of the recent direct peace talks in Istanbul. The ceasefire that Kyiv has long been seeking remains elusive.
According to the Kiev City Military Authority, in Kiev, fires occurred in at least four areas after debris from shot down drones fell on the roofs of residential buildings and warehouses.
Vasyl Pesenko, 25, stood in his kitchen, damaged in the attack.
“I was lying in bed as always, hoping that these shaheds (drone) would fly past me, I heard that shahed (hit the house). “I thought it would fly away, but it got closer and everything exploded.”
