KYIV, Ukraine — Russian ballistic missiles struck the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early Sunday morning, sparking fires and injuring at least three civilians, while subsequent attacks in other parts of the country left at least two dead, according to local officials.
The attacks occurred at a time when Ukraine’s successful drone strikes have slowed the Russian army’s advance in an expanded campaign inside Russia that has been causing fuel shortages and increasing pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
In eastern Ukraine, territory occupied by Russia, Kremlin-imposed authorities claimed that a Ukrainian drone attack had caused the death of four civilians in the city of Horlivka. According to Ivan Prikhodko, the Russian-appointed mayor, the city had been under fire since early Sunday morning.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian forces shot down 133 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russia, the Black Sea, and Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow forcibly annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
We recommend reading: Trump announces highway to Western Sahara that will bear his name
More Read
Russian attacks set a skyscraper on fire near the center of Kyiv.
Several explosions rocked Kyiv early Sunday morning, and falling debris caused a fire in an apartment building near the historic center, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
In other parts of the city, falling debris caused fires in buildings, cars, and parking lots, Klitschko added. He indicated that three people were injured, one of whom required hospital care.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warned in his evening address on Friday that intelligence assessments indicated that Russia was preparing missiles for a large-scale attack, and stated that there were indications that this could occur within the next 48 hours.
More Read
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed on Sunday that its latest attack on Kyiv had hit facilities linked to drone production.
Likewise, on Sunday, a drone attack on Kharkiv, the second-largest city in eastern Ukraine, left one person dead and at least six injured, including two children, according to Mayor Igor Terekhov.
In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian glide bomb killed one man and injured at least six other people, according to Mayor Ivan Fedorov.
Both Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia have been frequent targets of Russian attacks, and Zaporizhzhia, located just over 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from the front line, has suffered intense shelling in recent months.
The war experiences an escalation in retaliatory attacks.
On Friday, a major Russian attack near Kyiv left at least 10 dead and around 100 injured, as part of a cycle of retaliatory strikes that reduces the chances of reaching a diplomatic solution to the Russian invasion of its neighboring country, which has already lasted more than four years.
Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated on Sunday that “Ukraine’s position is stronger than it has been since the war began.”
Following a call with his Ukrainian counterpart—and apparently alluding to Kyiv’s recent drone campaign that has attacked major Russian energy facilities and attempted to cut off military supplies—Stubb wrote on X that “continued support from (Ukraine’s) partners is critical to maintaining momentum.”
Putin asks the Russian navy to defend the “shadow fleet” oil tankers.
Putin stated that Western attempts to seize oil tankers linked to Russia amounted to “piracy” and urged the Russian Navy to combat them.
“We must act with caution, in accordance with international maritime law, but with determination, just as we must fight against piracy and pirates,” Putin said on Sunday during a speech on the occasion of Russian Navy Day.
Moscow is believed to be using a fleet of hundreds of ships, many of them sailing under third-country flags, to transport oil in violation of international sanctions imposed following its war against Ukraine.
Last month, British armed forces boarded and detained an authorized oil tanker, suspected of being part of the so-called “shadow fleet.” French authorities have also intercepted some of these vessels.
Russia traditionally celebrates Navy Day with a major naval parade in and around St. Petersburg, in which Putin personally reviews the warships.
This year was the second consecutive time that the parade was completely canceled, while in 2024 its scale was reduced.
You can also read: Iran harshly criticizes Ukraine for attacking its commercial vessel
A British intelligence report released earlier this month linked the cancellations to concerns about “force protection,” citing a successful Ukrainian attack on June 3 against a Russian warship docked near St. Petersburg.
Romania shoots down another allegedly Russian drone.
Romania intercepted a suspected Russian drone in its airspace on Sunday, according to Romanian President Nicușor Dan; this is the third such incursion in three days over the territory of this Eastern European nation, which borders Ukraine and is a member of both NATO and the European Union.
In a post on X, Dan described the incidents as “inadmissible and intolerable” and added that authorities discovered that one of the previously downed drones appears to be “of the Shahed type, used by the Russian Federation in the war of aggression against Ukraine.”
NATO reported that two Romanian F-16 fighter jets took off from Fetești air base, under NATO operational command, during the morning and shot down the drone over the Black Sea.
A series of drone incursions by Russia and Ukraine have affected Romania and other NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
