Russian drone attack sparks park fire in Ukraine’s Kyiv

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Russia has continued its barrage on Ukraine with 100 more drones sent across the border.
Russia has continued its barrage on Ukraine with 100 more drones sent across the border.

Debris from destroyed Russian drones have sparked park and grass fires in Kyiv, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital says, in Moscow’s third drone attack on the city in as many nights.

“Emergency crews have been dispatched,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app on Monday.

The drone wreckage caused a fire in the Muromets park in the Desnianskyi district in Kyiv’s northeast and set some grass ablaze on the embankment of the Dnipro River across from the park.

There was no immediate information about potential injuries.

Reuters witnesses heard explosions in Kyiv in what sounded like air defence units in operation.

The strikes followed Russian attacks on Sunday that damaged buildings and power lines in Kyiv. 

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, 66 drones were destroyed during the overnight barrage, along with the missile.

A further 27 drones were “lost” over various areas, it said, likely having been electronically jammed, while one drone flew into Belarusian airspace. No casualties were reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russia had launched around 900 guided aerial bombs, 500 drones and 30 missiles against Ukraine over the past week.

Zelenskiy appealed to Ukraine’s allies to provide “long-range capabilities for our security”, saying that these “attacks would have been impossible if we had sufficient support from the world”. 

Kyiv is still awaiting word from its Western partners on its repeated requests to use the long-range weapons they provide to hit targets on Russian soil, including for pre-emptive Ukrainian strikes on camps where North Korean troops are being trained.

The Ukrainian president also urged partners to enact “truly effective sanctions to prevent Russia from importing critical components for drone and missile production”. 

A late Sunday Russian guided bomb attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv injured several people.

There was no comment from Moscow about the attacks.

Since August, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine, in what Kyiv officials say is Moscow’s attempt to destroy critical infrastructure needed for heating during winter. 

Reuters