Blasts rock Kyiv in rare daytime Russian attack

KYIV – Explosions rang out over the Ukrainian capital on March 16, and AFP journalists witnessed air defence batteries fending off a barrage of Russian projectiles during a rare daytime attack on Kyiv.

Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, was also under bombardment, the mayor said, adding that one person was wounded, and transport infrastructure was damaged.

Russian forces have stepped up long-range drone and missile attacks over recent months, mainly targeting energy facilities.

The barrage comes as US-led efforts to bring Kyiv and Moscow to the negotiating table appear to have been derailed by the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said shortly before the air alert was lifted that drone debris had crashed in two districts of the city but did not report any casualties.

“Emergency services are heading to the scenes,” he said.

AFP journalists saw flashes and clouds of smoke as residents of the capital sought cover during rush hour.

The Ukrainian air force had warned of a “high-speed target” aimed at Kyiv coming from the north of the country, which borders Russia.

The Russian capital has also been targeted by Ukrainian drones over recent days, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, adding that Russian air defence systems had downed around 250 drones “as they approached Moscow”.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II, forcing the displacement of millions and killing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians on both sides.

Earlier on the morning of March 16, a 67-year-old man was wounded in his car in the southern Kherson region by a Russian drone, and an 18-year-old man and women aged 48 and 81 were wounded in a Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia.

Both Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are among four regions that Russia claims to have annexed in 2022 despite not having complete control over either. AFP