Russia launched a barrage of drone and missile attacks on Kiev overnight as Ukrainian children prepared to return to school, officials said early Monday.
Debris from intercepted missiles and drones fell on Kiev, and air raid sirens continued until 6:30 a.m., before children were due to start the new school term.
Ukraine said it had destroyed 22 of the 35 missiles and 20 of the 23 attack drones. Reuters reported.
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Shared Photos Various districts of Kyiv were hit, it said in online reports, adding that three people were injured and two kindergartens were damaged.
“Today, Ukrainian children went to school and were woken up not by alarm clocks but by sirens and explosions.” The ministry revealed this. “We will never tolerate such meanness and cynicism from our enemies.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said He is grateful to everyone who made it possible for the country to see the first day of the new school year.
The attack comes as both Ukraine and Russia continue their aggressive ground offensives, with Ukraine continuing to push into Russia's Kursk region and Russia further advancing into Ukraine's Donetsk region, according to the Associated Press.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Ukraine's mission in Kursk would not prevent his country's troops from continuing to operate in eastern Ukraine.
He predicted that the Kursk Offensive would fail and that Ukraine would want to “move towards peace negotiations,” according to the Associated Press.
Zelensky acknowledged that the Kursk offensive had led to a withdrawal of Russian troops from southern Ukraine, but said they had not yet withdrawn their troops from the east.
