Kyiv Under Siege: Russian Missiles Strike Capital, Ukrainian Counterattack Destroys School

In a recent escalation of the ongoing conflict, Kyiv was subjected to a barrage of Russian missiles and drones on Monday morning. A Kyiv official reported that the city faced more than 10 cruise missiles, approximately 10 ballistic missiles, and a drone, highlighting the intensity of the attack.

The Ukrainian capital was bombarded in the latest air assault, prompting a swift response from the city's military administration. According to reports on the Telegram messaging app, Ukraine’s air defense units successfully intercepted dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles early on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, in a retaliatory strike, Ukrainian forces targeted a childcare facility in the Russian region of Belgorod. Authorities confirmed that the attack destroyed the facility, underscoring the escalating nature of the conflict between the two nations.

Ukrainian forces reported that they neutralized 22 out of 35 missiles and 20 out of 23 attack drones over various regions, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia. Despite these defensive measures, the attack on Kyiv resulted in a series of explosions, forcing residents to seek refuge in bomb shelters.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated that emergency services were dispatched to the Holosiivskyi and Solomianskyi districts. One person was reportedly injured by falling debris in the Shevchenkivskyi district. In response to the attack, Andriy Yermak, the head of the President’s Office, posted on his Telegram page, “There will be an answer for everything. The enemy will feel it.”

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration, confirmed that more than 10 cruise missiles, about 10 ballistic missiles, and a drone fired at the Ukrainian capital and its suburbs were destroyed by Ukraine’s air defenses.

Explosions were also reported in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region, confirmed an early morning strike in Kharkiv’s Industrialnyi district, which set a residential building and several others on fire.

In the Russian city of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine, several schools were forced to switch to online classes following the destruction of a childcare facility by a Ukrainian attack on Monday. “It’s a bad morning for the Belgorod region,” Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a social media post. “A kindergarten in the city of Belgorod has been almost completely destroyed.”

The previous day, Russia claimed to have destroyed 158 Ukrainian drones targeting multiple regions in one of the largest Ukrainian attacks since the war began nearly two and a half years ago.

Ukrainian forces have continued their incursion into the Kursk region, with Moscow’s forces struggling to repel them despite promises from the Kremlin to respond effectively.

This ongoing exchange of strikes underscores the escalating tensions and the humanitarian impact of the conflict, as both sides continue to engage in retaliatory actions.