Ukraine: 10 injured in new Russian missile attack on kyiv

Ten people were arrested. injured Monday by debris from Russian missiles shot down at kyiv, new proof, according to Ukraine, of its "urgent" of air defense systems provided by Westerners.

Russia has increased bombings of its neighbor in recent weeks, particularly targeting energy infrastructure, in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks against its border regions. This is the third air attack on the capital in five days.

Explosions, just after an air warning siren, were heard by AFP journalists in kyiv on Monday morning, around 08:30 GMT.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said ten people were injured, including two hospitalized. A 16-year-old girl, briefly treated at the hospital, has already been discharged, he said.

Oksana, a resident of Kiev, was at work at the time of the incident: “Before I could do anything, the first explosion rang out,” she told AFP.

“There was a cloud of dust, cars and windows broken, everything was destroyed,” she adds.

Emergency services have released photos of seriously damaged buildings, as well as a crater near a house.

We can see rescuers working in a tangle of rubble, where bricks and pieces of concrete mix with fragments of parquet.

“The enemy launched two ballistic missiles from the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea. The two enemy missiles were destroyed” by air defense, said the head of the Kiev military administration, Sergiï Popko, on the networks social.

A rescuer at the site of a Russian missile attack in kyiv, March 25, 2024 in Ukraine © AFP – Sergei SUPINSKY

Eleven people were also injured in a nighttime Russian drone attack in the southern regions of Mykolaiv and Odessa.

Energy infrastructure was been “damaged” in the city of Odessa, according to regional authorities.

– “Not a moment to lose” –

Ukraine, very dependent on military aid provided by its Western partners, has been urging them for several months to send more and faster.

Rescuers at the site of a Russian missile attack in kyiv, March 25, 2024 in Ukraine © AFP – Sergei SUPINSKY

“We keep repeating that Ukraine needs more air defense systems”, synonymous with “security”, said President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday.

His foreign minister, Dmytro Kouleba, repeated the same message, urging the delivery of American Patriot anti-aircraft systems “capable of repelling any Russian attack”.

But significant American aid is still blocked in Congress due to opposition between Republicans and Democrats. However, Joe Biden and his administration want to quickly reach a favorable vote.

“Ukraine needs our help now. There is not a moment to lose”, urged the American ambassador in Kiev, Bridget Brink, on shells promised in recent months.

On the ground, the Ukrainian army must deal with a shortage of ammunition and recruitment difficulties, while the Russian army is eating away at terrain, despite its human losses.

– No breakthrough –

The front has nevertheless largely remained frozen since more than a year, neither side achieving a real breakthrough.

Ukraine: positions of military forces © AFP – Valentin RAKOVSKY, Sophie RAMIS, Cléa PECULIER

In recent weeks, air attacks against Russian border regions have increased, causing several deaths in Belgorod. Groups of fighters, presenting themselves as Russian anti-Kremlin volunteers, have also led armed incursions that Moscow says it is repelling.

The Russian army claims to bomb Ukraine in retaliation for these attacks, themselves responses to daily strikes against Ukrainian cities.

In Russia, a fire broke out at a major power plant in the Rostov region, the local governor said, following a series of Ukrainian drone attacks in the region.

Two units of the Novocherkassk power plant, one of the largest in southwestern Russia, were taken out of service, said Governor Vasily Golubev in a message published on Telegram.

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