Photos: Russia launches air strike on kyiv

Russia launched a pre-dawn airstrike on the Ukrainian capital, killing at least one person and sending Kiev residents back into shelters to escape a relentless wave of bombing raids day and night.

At least 20 Shahed explosive drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kiev airspace on Tuesday in Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to preliminary information from the Kiev Military Administration. Overall, Ukraine shot down 29 of the 31 drones fired at the country, most in the kyiv area, the air force later added.

Before dawn, the drone of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they were shot down by air defense systems.

In the overnight attacks in kyiv, one person was killed and three injured when a high-rise building in the Holosiiv district caught fire. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, but debris falling from drones and interceptor missiles has frequently caused damage to the ground.

The top two floors of the building were destroyed and there may be people under the rubble, the kyiv Military Administration said. More than 20 people were evacuated.

Elsewhere in the capital, falling debris caused a fire in a private house in Darnytskyi district and three cars caught fire in Pechersky district, according to the military administration.

The series of attacks that began on Sunday included a rare daylight attack on Monday that sent puffs of white smoke into the blue sky.

On that day, Russian forces fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at kyiv, according to Ukraine’s chief of staff Valerii Zaluzhnyi. They were all shot down, he said.

Debris from the intercepted missiles fell on Kiev’s central and northern districts in the morning, landing in traffic on a city street and also starting a fire on the roof of a building, Kiev’s military administration said. It was reported that at least one civilian was injured.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it launched a series of attacks early Monday against Ukrainian airbases with long-range air-launched precision missiles. The attacks destroyed command posts, radar, aircraft and ammunition reserves, he said. He did not say anything about attacking cities or other civilian areas.