Listen to this article
Average 3 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. It can be mispronounced. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
Russian airstrikes on major Ukrainian centers including Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv killed at least five people and wounded scores more on Tuesday, authorities said, days after warnings that Moscow was planning a major attack.
Four people were killed and 16 were injured when Russia attacked Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine, said regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha in Telegram.
All the injured were hospitalized and reported to be in stable condition, he said, adding photos of destroyed residential buildings, burnt cars and a destroyed children’s playground.
In Kyiv, at least one person was killed and 29 others were injured in the capital, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the capital’s military administration.
The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said a suspicious strike on the 24-storey building caused the collapse and that people may be trapped under the rubble.
Other buildings, including a nine-story one, were burned by missile debris, he said.
“In Obolon region, cars are on fire after being hit by missile debris. There are also fires in two open areas, including one near a kindergarten,” Klitschko said on Telegram.
Thousands of Kyiv residents took refuge in metro stations and other shelters after warnings of airstrikes hit much of the country on Tuesday.
A ‘big strike’ is possible, Zelenskyy said
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday reiterated warnings of a possible major Russian strike and urged citizens to pay special attention to airstrike warnings.
“Intellectual warnings about Russian strikes are still valid. A major strike is possible, prepare for it,” Zelenskiy said in his late-night video address.
“Our defenders are on standby 24/7 as much as possible with the resources currently available.”
Russia last week warned that it intended to launch “systematic strikes” on targets in Kyiv linked to Ukraine’s military and decision-making centers, and urged migrants to leave.
It said the action was related to a drone strike last week on a dormitory in the Russian-held Ukrainian region of Luhansk, which killed 21 people. Ukraine has denied carrying out the attack.
Drones and unmanned robots are changing the way wars are fought, including on the battlefield of Ukraine. Nationally, CBC’s Murray Brewster travels to Latvia where soldiers are training to fight a new enemy.
In the northeastern region of Kharkiv in Ukraine, 10 people, including a child, were injured in an attack by drones and missiles, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.
Reuters could not independently verify all the reports.
Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy and infrastructure and Ukraine has stepped up attacks on oil facilities inside Russia this year, sometimes resulting in casualties. Both sides deny targeting civilians.
The war in Ukraine has been simmering for more than four years since Russia launched its all-out offensive in February 2022. Efforts to end the conflict have made little progress, as the US administration of Donald Trump focuses on conflicts in the Middle East.
