One dead in Russian drone attack in Kiev, officials say from Reuters

KYIV (Reuters) – Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kiev early on Wednesday, killing one person, wounding six others and damaging buildings in two districts, city officials said.

Explosions boomed in the morning sky as the Ukrainian air force warned of drones approaching the capital and Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defenses had repelled an enemy attack.

Two floors of a residential building were partially destroyed in the strike, Klitschko said. The body of a woman was later pulled from the debris, the city’s military administration said.

Pictures released by the State Emergency Service showed firefighters removing a gutted corner of a building and rescuers helping elderly victims.

The National Bank of Ukraine said in a statement that one of its buildings had been damaged by debris from a downed drone. Debris also damaged a non-residential building in a different neighborhood, Klitschko added.

“Even on New Year’s Eve, Russia was only concerned with how to hurt Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on social media in response to the strike.

Kiev’s military said it had shot down 63 of the 111 drones launched by Russia overnight in various regions of Ukraine. Another 46 had been brought down by electronic jamming, he added.

Russia has carried out regular airstrikes on Ukrainian towns and cities well behind the front lines of its nearly three-year invasion.