Russia launches New Year drone strike on Kyiv, officials say
Firefighters work at a site of a building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine January 1, 2025. REUTERS/Yan Dobronosov
KYIV: Russia launched a drone strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Wednesday (Jan 1), killing one person, wounding six others and damaging buildings in two districts, city officials said.
Explosions boomed across the morning sky as Ukraine's air force warned of drones approaching the city and Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defences were repelling an enemy attack.
Two floors of a residential building were partially destroyed in the strike, Klitschko said. The body of a woman was later pulled from the debris, the city's military administration said.
Photos posted by the State Emergency Service showed firefighters dousing a gutted corner of a building and helping elderly victims.
The National Bank of Ukraine said in a statement that one of its buildings had been damaged by debris from a downed drone.
Debris also damaged a non-residential building in a different neighbourhood, Klitschko added.
"Even on New Year's Eve, Russia was only concerned about how to hurt Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media in response to the strike.
Kyiv's military said it had shot down 63 out of 111 drones launched by Russia overnight across various regions of Ukraine. Another 46 had been downed by electronic jamming, it added.
Russia has carried out regular air strikes on Ukrainian towns and cities far behind the front line of its nearly three-year-old invasion.
