Ukrainian military officials stated that on Monday, earlier in the day of September 2, Russia launched missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, causing a fire and damaging houses and infrastructure, resulting in at least 3 injuries.
According to the Ukrainian military’s post on the social media platform Telegram, Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed more than twenty missiles launched by Russia over Kyiv.
This occurred just a few hours before Ukrainian children were due to begin their third school year under Russian invasion, with over thirty missiles reportedly launched by Russia towards Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated, “Overnight, Russia launched a total of 35 missiles towards Ukraine, including ballistic missiles, and 23 unmanned aerial vehicles.”
Zelensky also mentioned that some of the destroyed missile debris caused damage to a mosque in Kyiv, accusing Russia of attempting to destroy all of their communities, even sacred places of worship.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukraine had shot down 9 ballistic missiles, 13 cruise missiles, and 20 attack drones.
Kyiv Military Administration head Sergiy Popko stated that missile fragments fell in four districts of Kyiv, injuring at least 3 people.
Air raid alarms sounded across Ukraine for nearly two hours until 3:30 GMT. During this time, NATO member Poland, bordering Ukraine, deployed its own and alliance aircraft to ensure airspace safety.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on Telegram that damage was sustained to the boiler room of a water plant and an entrance of a metro station in Kyiv. The metro station serves as an air defense facility in the Svyatoshynksyi district and continues to operate.
The affected area is also home to numerous universities and schools.
Klitschko stated that the attack also led to many vehicles and a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district catching fire.
He mentioned that missile fragments also fell in the Svyatoshynksyi, Holosiivskyi, and Solomyanskyi districts, with emergency response teams rushing to those locations.
Solomyanskyi district serves as a key route to a major train station and Kyiv’s main airport, the historic Svyatoshynksyi district lies to the west of Kyiv, and Holosiivskyi district is situated towards the city’s southwest.
Witnesses in Kyiv told Reuters that they heard a series of loud explosions, indicating possible engagement between Ukrainian air defense forces and Russian troops, with some blasts occurring in the city center.
Sumy Mayor Oleksandr Lysenko stated on Telegram that a child welfare center and an orphanage were damaged after being hit by Russian missiles on Sunday night, causing 13 injuries, including 4 children.
A week prior, Russia launched what has been deemed the “largest-scale” attack since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. Russian forces fired over two hundred missiles and drones, targeting Ukraine’s energy facilities nationwide, resulting in 7 fatalities.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, denying civilian targeting throughout the 30-month-long war, Russia has consistently denied civilian targeting during the conflict.
(This article references reports from Reuters and the Irish television station)