Missiles target Kyiv: Air defense intercepts amid civilian rush to shelters
At least three loud explosions were heard in Kyiv on Monday before noon, followed seconds later by the sounding of the air raid alarm. Authorities reported that air defence forces managed to shoot down two missiles, resulting in at least five people being injured.
9:54 AM EDT, March 25, 2024
The assault commenced before 5 AM Eastern Time (before 4 AM in Poland), with people seen rushing to shelters in the streets. The Ukrainian capital was targeted by Russian forces using ballistic missiles, as confirmed by authorities.
"Around 4:30 AM Eastern Time, the enemy targeted Kyiv with two ballistic missiles launched from the temporarily occupied Crimea. The missiles were successfully intercepted. The exact type of the missiles is currently being analyzed," reported the commander of the Ukrainian Air Forces, General Mykola Oleschuk, via Telegram.
The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, reported that debris from the shot-down missiles resulted in four injuries in the Pechersk district, located in the city center.
"In the Pechersk District, five individuals were injured. Two women received on-site treatment. Another two, including a 16-year-old girl, needed hospitalization," he stated.
Attacks on Kyiv send children scrambling to shelters
Dmytro Kuleba, the Foreign Minister, shared a video on social media that captured children from one of the capital's schools dashing to a shelter, just moments after city-wide sirens went off warning of the incoming Russian missiles.
"There are no depths of cruelty that Russian villains won't stoop to. Today, they launched ballistic missiles at the heart of a populous city," he commented.
He has called for the provision of additional missile defense systems to Ukraine.
