Russia-Ukraine war live: several blasts hit central Kyiv; conflict has pushed four million children into poverty, says UN | Ukraine
Explosions heard in Kyiv
The Guardian’s Charlotte Higgins is in Kyiv, where she has heard at least three explosions this morning.
On Telegram, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote:
“The explosion in the Shevchenkiv district – in the center of the capital. All services follow in place. Details later. The air alert continues. Stay in shelters!”
The Shevchenkivskiy district is the same area that was hit by several explosions a week ago, on October 10. At least 19 people were killed in last week’s attacks on Kyiv and more than 100 were injured.
Key events
While drone attacks have taken place in Kyiv, the pro-Russian “authorities” in occupied Donetsk have said that Ukrainian forces have been shelling Donetsk, Horlivka and Makiivka in the east of the country. The Russian state-owned RIA Novosti news agency quotes messages on Telegram saying that 19 155mm and 152mm caliber shells were fired. The claims have not been independently verified.
Here are more of the images we have been sent via the newswires showing the aftermath of drone attacks in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
The latest update from Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, warns residents of the city to continue to exercise caution. I wrote:
In the center of the capital, traffic is blocked on sections of several streets. I am appealing to the residents of Kyiv: do not go to the city center without an urgent need. Also, don’t ignore the air warning signals. Let’s be conscious and take care of our own safety. Let’s stand together!
In the UK, the BBC’s Radio 4 Today program has interviewed a witness from Kyiv about this morning’s attacks on the city. She told listeners:
[In the] last two hours, we can hear the explosions and the noise of the drones flying over our building, almost constantly. Believe me, once you’ve heard the sound of a rocket flying over your building, or a drone flying over your building, you can tell the difference. You can feel the difference.
A rocket is more like a whistle. If we are talking about the drones, imagine some huge 200kg motorcycle flying over your building. It is really freaking scary.
It’s something like every 10 or 15 minutes. We can hear the series of noises. We can tell that drones are flying and then our forces are trying to hit them, every 10 or 15 minutes
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant again cut off from external energy supply
The operator of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) has said that it has again been disconnected from external power supply as a result of Russian shelling.
Energoatomthe Ukrainian state-owned concerned which runs the ZNPP, has posted to Telegram to claim that:
Russian terrorists once again fired at substations of critical infrastructure in the territory under the control of Ukraine, as a result of which at 03:59 the last communication line of 750 kV ZANP – Dniprovska was disconnected. In the transitional process, due to a short-term voltage drop, the reserve transformer of the ZNPP’s own needs was turned off and the diesel generators were started.
We once again appeal to the international community to urgently take measures for the demilitarization of the ZNPP as soon as possible, the withdrawal of all Russian military personnel from the territory of the plant and the city of Energodar, and the return of the ZNPP to the full control of Ukraine for the sake of the security of the whole world.
The claims have not been independently verified. Russian forces have been occupying the ZNPP, Europe’s largest nuclear power station, since the earliest days of the war in Ukraine. The ZNPP is located in one of the occupied regions of Ukraine which Russia claims to have “annexed”, and Russia has announced its intention to bring the ZNPP under the control of Russia’s nuclear authorities.
Serhai HaidaiUkraine’s governor of Luhanskhas posted to Telegram to say that “the Russians are wiping the liberated settlements off the face of the earth with tanks, artillery and anti-aircraft fire”.
He also said “the occupiers are placing concrete cubes and digging trenches throughout Luhansk region – preparing for a long defense”.
Luhansk is one of the occupied regions of Ukraine that Russia has claimed to annex, despite not fully controlling the territory there.
Olga RudenkoUkrainian journalist and editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent, has tweeted this about the situation in Kyiv in the last few minutes:
Dear free world, how are you starting your Monday? Coffee? A workout? Writing down goals for the week? We in Kyiv started it sitting in shelters, twitching from loud explosions as Russia is attacking the city with kamikaze drones.
Here are some of the latest images that we have received from Kyiv over the newswires.
Away from Kyiv for a moment, and Oleh Synyehubovgovernor of Kharkiv, has said that one person has died and two people have been wounded by strikes in the region in the last 24 hours. On the Telegram messaging app, I wrote:
As a result of the shelling, fires broke out in non-residential buildings. According to the regional center of emergency medical assistance, a 45-year-old woman unfortunately died in the Kharkiv district as a result of the shelling of Lukyantsi. A 47-year-old woman was hospitalized with injuries in Solonytsivka. A 69-year-old man was hospitalized in the Kupyansk district. In the Izium district, two people – a 54-year-old man and his 16-year-old son – turned to doctors with previously received injuries.
Demining continues in the region. During the day, the state emergency service defused 630 explosive objects. Fighting with the Russian occupiers continues on the contact line.
The claims have not been independently verified.
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. If you’re just joining us, Kyiv has been hit by a series of explosions, just days after Russia’s president Vladimir Putin promised there would be “no need for more massive strikes” on Ukraine.
Here is the full story:
Kyiv residents ordered to remain in shelters as strikes continue
Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko posted on Telegram warning of further strikes on the city.
“Two more explosions in the Shevchenkiv district. Stay in shelters!” I said.
Charlotte Higgins
After his attacks on 10 October, Russian president Vladimir Putin said most designated targets of the strikes had been hit, adding that it was not his aim to destroy Ukraine.
Speaking to journalists after a summit with regional leaders in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, the Russian leader said that the recent strikes had destroyed 22 out of the 29 targets in Ukraine set by the military and that “they are getting” the remaining seven.
“There’s no need for massive strikes. We now have other tasks,” he said.
What are Kamikaze drones?
Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, confirmed this morning that the attacks on Kyiv were carried out using Kamikaze drones.
Here is the Guardian’s Peter Beaumont on how the drones work – and Russia’s escalating use of these weapons in the war:
“The capital was attacked by kamikaze drones,” I said. “We need more air defense systems and as soon as possible. We have no time for slow actions. More weapons to defend the sky and destroy the enemy.”
Usually launched in pairs, the 200kg Kamikaze drone – which is armed with a warhead, officially has claimed range of about 2,000km although realistically it is believed to be closer to several hundred with anecdotal evidence suggesting that Ukrainian forces have at times struggled to track the incoming drones.
In a recent interview Oleg Katkov, of Ukraine’s Defense Express, suggested the drones were probably relatively low-tech, assembled from parts that could be bought easily online and guided by a civilian GPS system, with their effectiveness coming from their use in swarms.
“Since this equipment is assembled from low-quality parts, the reliability will be low. That is why the tactics of using these UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] involves their use in a so-called swarm. In other words, five to six, or even more, kamikaze drones are launched at one target, assuming that a few of them will fulfill their task.”
Charlotte Higgins
Here is our report on this morning’s attacks:
Kyiv has been hit by a series of explosions, just days after Russia’s president Vladimir Putin promised there would be “no need for more massive strikes” on Ukraine.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitaliy Klitschko confirmed two blasts sounded in the city’s central Shevchenkiv district in a series of statements posted to his Telegram channel just before 7am on Monday.
Air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv at 6.25am, an almost daily occurrence, frequently ignored by citizens. This time however, they were swiftly followed by a series of explosions between 6.35am and 6.58am (0335 GMT and 0358 GMT). A second series of blasts was heard by Guardian correspondents at about 815am local time (615am BST).
Klitschko said that “as a result of the drone attack, a fire broke out in a non-residential building in the Shevchenkiv district” and several residential buildings were also damaged.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the president’s office, confirmed the attack in a Telegram post just after 7am.
“The capital was attacked by kamikaze drones,” I said. “We need more air defense systems and as soon as possible. We have no time for slow actions. More weapons to defend the sky and destroy the enemy.”
“The Russians think that this will help them but these actions look more like agony,” he said.
Emergency services were reportedly clarifying information about any possible victims.
The head of Ukraine’s state railway, Alexander Kamyshin, said some strikes hit near Kyiv’s central station. Scores of people sheltered in an underpass at the station.
Attacks in Zaporizhzhia overnight
Anatoly Kurtev, Zaporizhzhia City Council secretary, has just posted on Telegram that there was an attack on the city overnight, but that so far no injuries or casualties have been reported.
“Tonight, during the air raid, the racist occupiers launched an attack on the outskirts of the city and the suburbs.
According to preliminary data, there are no destructions and no injured people.”
