Kyiv hit by waves of drone strikes in first attacks on Ukraine’s capital in weeks

Russian drone strikes damaged buildings in Kyiv on Wednesday in the first attacks on Ukraine’s capital in weeks - though air defences thwarted many more, authorities said.

The head of the Kyiv city administration, Serhii Popko, wrote on Telegram that the strikes came in two waves, and shrapnel from the intercepted drones damaged one administrative building, while four residential buildings sustained minor damage. No casualties were initially reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a brief video statement, said the “terrorists” fired 13 Iranian-made drones and all were intercepted.

Such drones have been part of Russia’s firepower along with mortar, artillery and rocket strikes across Ukraine in recent weeks.

The attack underscored the continued vulnerability of the capital, which has largely been spared of damage in the latest phases of Russia’s nearly 10-month onslaught in Ukraine.

However the capital remained largely calm after the explosions, which occurred at around dawn and before the start of the business day. The destruction appeared limited compared to fallout from other Russian strikes that have taken lives and upended livelihoods across the country in recent weeks.

As the working day began in Kyiv, authorities sounded the all-clear on an air raid alert system.

The strike left a gaping hole in the roof of a three-storey administrative building in the central Shevchenkyvskyi district, and the blast blew out windows in parked cars and in a neighbouring building.

In a sign of Ukrainians’ resilience to hundreds of such strikes in recent months, clean-up crews were on site quickly to shovel away the rubble and roll out plastic sheeting to cover blown-out windows to cope with freezing temperatures in the snow-covered capital.

One man appeared unfazed as he pushed his son on a swing set on a nearby playground as the crews did their work.

Ukraine in recent weeks has faced a barrage of Russian air strikes across the country, largely targeting infrastructure, as well as continued fighting along the front lines in the eastern and southern regions.

During the latest round of Russian military volleys on December 5, more than 60 of 70 strikes were intercepted by air defence systems, including nine out of 10 targeting the capital and its region, Ukrainian officials have said.