Russian strikes kill nine in Ukraine and damage historic cathedral, officials say
According to reports, nine people were killed and many others were injured in a wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine, in which a major religious landmark in Kiev caught fire.
Ukrainian officials said four people were killed in attacks on Kiev, while five rescue workers died trying to extinguish a fire caused by a Russian attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
The 11th-century Dormition Cathedral suffered significant damage in what Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko described as “a brutal attack on our people and our heritage”.
Meanwhile, three people were killed and three others, including a one-year-old child, were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian city of Tula, south of Moscow, officials said.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said drone and missile attacks set fire to buildings and cars and left more than 140,000 people without electricity in Ukraine’s capital. Much of Ukraine was under air raid warnings on Monday.
At least 23 people were injured in the attacks in which many residences were targeted in Kiev, and five people were injured in Kharkiv.
Kiev residents took shelter in the metro station [Reuters]
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, in his statement about he said.
Ukraine’s neighbor Poland said it scrambled warplanes and alerted air defense systems on the ground in a “preemptive” response to Russian attacks on Kiev.
The strikes took place ahead of this week’s G7 meeting in France, where the war in Ukraine is on the agenda.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensy on Sunday said he had spoken with US President Donald Trump about efforts to end the long-running conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
