Two killed in Kyiv as Russia and Ukraine exchange fresh drone strikes

Two people were killed and at least eight were injured in a Russian drone strike on Kyiv as Russia and Ukraine both launched overnight attacks on each other’s capitals, local authorities said on Wednesday.

According to Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, debris from a downed drone hit the upper floors of a five-storey residential building early on Wednesday morning, killing two people and injuring eight more.

Four people, three of whom were children, were hospitalised due to their injuries, Klitschko said, with falling drone debris also causing fires to break out in several other residential buildings across the Ukrainian capital.

The attack on Kyiv came just hours after a Russian missile strike on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed three people, including one child, and injured 11 more on Tuesday evening.

Ukraine launched drone attacks at several Russian regions overnight, with Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reporting that air defences had downed 14 drones as they approached the Russian capital between 10pm on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Thousands of passengers were left stranded as flights were temporarily suspended at airports in Moscow and at least eight other cities, with over 70 flights diverted to St. Petersburg amid the risk of drones in central Russia.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said that Ukrainian drones had struck the Russian military's Kubinka air base near Moscow, which houses Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets, as well as the Shaykovka air base in the nearby Kaluga region, which is home to Tu-22M3 bombers and missile warehouses.

In addition to the air bases, Ukraine also targeted an optical fibre plant in the city of Saransk and weapons production facilities in Tula, Kovalenko said.

Kyiv has stepped up its drone attacks on Moscow in recent days as the city gears up to celebrate Russia’s Victory Day on Friday. On Tuesday, Sobyanin said that air defences had shot down 19 drones over Moscow and the surrounding Moscow region in the largest attack on the Russian capital in over a month.