Russian attack kills at least 3 in Kyiv as Ukrainian drone strikes set Russian fuel stores alight

First responders work the scene following a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital with a barrage of drones and missiles Saturday, leaving at least three people dead, while industrial sites in Russia were set ablaze by Ukrainian strikes.

Russia launched 39 Shahed drones, other simulator drones and four ballistic missiles in the early hours of Saturday morning, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Ukrainian air defense forces shot down two missiles and 24 drones. A further 14 drone simulators were lost in location, the statement said.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said three people were killed and three more injured in the attack. A fourth victim had been assumed dead but the administration said later the case has yet to be confirmed. The known victims are two men aged 43 and 25, and a 41-year-old woman, officials said.

The office of Ukraine’s general prosecutor said in a statement that the casualties included a security guard at a food establishment and people who were in a minibus on the street.

AP journalists at the scene saw a man lying dead amid the debris in a pool of blood. Water flooded the streets as firefighters put out the blaze from the attack.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said windows were broken in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district, and there was smoke at the entrance of a residential building. A water supply pipeline was also damaged, he added. The Lukyanivska metro station was closed after the attacks damaged its glass entrance, but was later reopened.

Drones and missiles were also shot down across numerous regions in Ukraine, including Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Donetsk.

Ten people were injured when a Russian missile struck the regional center of Zaporizhzhia, damaging residential buildings and private vehicles, local governor Ivan Fedorov said. Eight people aged between 28 to 69 were hospitalised, including a 48-year-old woman in a serious condition, he wrote in a statement.

Elsewhere, industrial sites in Russia’s Kaluga and Tula regions were set ablaze by Ukrainian drone attacks, local officials said Saturday.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 46 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed across the country overnight.

In the Kaluga region, a drone strike sparked a fire in the town of Lyudinovo, Gov. Vladislav Shapsha wrote on Telegram. Residents said on social media that the attack had targeted a local oil depot.

A fire was also reported in Tula region, where Gov. Dmitry Milyaev said a fuel storage tank had been set alight. He warned residents to stay away from fallen drone debris.

No casualties were reported in either case.

The Associated Press