After nightmare, Russia attack sparks horror in Kyiv during day
Cruise and ballistic missiles pour on Ukraine capital Arrest warrant for US Senator over Ukraine comments
KYIV: Explosions rattled Kyiv during daylight Monday as Russian ballistic missiles took aim at the Ukrainian capital, hours after a more common night-time barrage of the city by drones and cruise missiles.
Russian forces fired 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv at about 11:30 am (0830 GMT), according to Ukraine’s chief of staff, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. All of them were shot down, he said.
Debris from the intercepted missiles fell in Kyiv’s central and northern districts during the morning, landing in the middle of traffic on a city road and also starting a fire on a building’s roof, the Kyiv military administration said. At least one civilian was reported hurt. The blasts unnerved some locals, already under strain after being awakened by the night attack.
Many citizens took refuge in the Kyiv subway and the central station, Tetatralna, was crowded with sheltering locals amid attacks.
Russia used Iskander short-range missiles in the morning attack, the spokesman for Ukraine’s air force said on local television.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that early Monday it launched a series of strikes targeting Ukrainian air bases with precision long-range airlaunched missiles. The strikes destroyed command posts, radars, aircraft and ammunition stockpiles, it claimed. It didn’t say anything about hitting cities or other civilian areas.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned against indifference, saying the repeated strikes on civilian areas amounted to “war crimes.” “Russia’s drone and missile attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities cannot be seen as usual, no matter how frequent they grow,” he tweeted in English.
MOSCOW: Russia’s Interior Ministry on Monday issued an arrest warrant for US Sen Lindsey Graham following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine. In an edited video of his meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that “the Russians are dying” and described the US military assistance to the country as “the best money we’ve ever spent.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “it’s hard to imagine a greater shame for the country than having such senators.” The Investigative Committee, the top investigation agency has moved to open a criminal inquiry against Graham, and the Interior Ministry followed up by issuing a warrant for his arrest.