Russian forces launched a wave of “kamikaze” drones at Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on Monday that left multiple people dead.
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The attack was not limited to Kyiv alone, however. Ukraine’s Strana News outlet reported that air raid warnings were activated in all regions of south, eastern, and central Ukraine.
“As of now, the number of people killed as a result of a kamikaze drone attack on a residential building has increased to 3. 19 people have been rescued,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, said on Telegram. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that the dead were a “young couple, a husband and wife, who were expecting a child. The woman was 6 months pregnant.”
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Search and rescue operations continue as emergency operators look to retrieve people from under the rubble.
Russia’s military has bombarded large swaths of the country for roughly the last week, incurring allegations of targeting civilian infrastructure in these attacks, though it has repeatedly claimed that these strikes have strictly sought military targets, including Ukraine’s energy sector.
A senior U.S. military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reporters on Friday, said that Russia’s latest bombardment included “hundreds” of missiles that “in most” cases “have been used at civilian targets either indiscriminately or certainly in a deliberate way as it relates to infrastructure targets like electricity or bridges or otherwise,” which violate the international rules of war.
“During the day, the Russian armed forces continued to strike with high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons at military command and control facilities and the energy system targets of Ukraine. All designated objects were hit,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement, according to CNN.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Monday afternoon local time that the country had shot down 37 Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones and three cruise missiles.
Russia’s military has increasingly relied on the Iranian weapons as their stockpiles continue to diminish throughout the nearly eight-month-long conflict.
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Late last week, Ukrainian officials alleged personnel connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps traveled to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to train Kremlin forces how to use the drones they’ve purchased. Iran denies reports that it has provided weapons to Russia.
“Iran has repeatedly declared that it is not a party in the war between Russia and Ukraine and has not sent any weapons to either side,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, according to Iranian state media IRNA.
A senior U.S. military official told reporters on Monday that Iran had provided Russia with “hundreds” of drones but declined to provide a more approximate amount.
