Russian Airstrike Against Kyiv Kills Three, Including Nine-Year-Old Girl and Her Mother

KYIV, UKRAINE - JUNE 1: A damaged building is seen behind women after a Russian aerial att
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Oliver JJ Lane

Russia is keeping up its air raid blitz on Ukraine which has been intensified in the past month with near-nightly strikes on Kyiv and other cities, killing three overnight including a mother and child.

The mayor of Ukrainian capital Kyiv said Thursday morning that three people were injured and three killed in overnight strikes against the city by Russian forces. Tragically, among the dead were a nine-year-old girl and her mother, and another child is in hospital with injuries, Ukrainian state media reports.

KYIV, UKRAINE – JUNE 1 : A woman reacts over the body of her daughter, next to a clinic that was damaged during a Russian missile attack, on June 1, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. At least three were killed, including a child, and others were injured by falling debris from intercepted missiles. Russia has targeted Kyiv with near-daily air strikes in the last week, a combination of missile and drone attacks. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/Getty Images)

It is claimed the attack was a wave of ten ballistic missiles, and Ukraine claims to have shot down all ten of them, but falling debris from the missiles still fell on the city. Kyiv said as well as the casualties, property was damaged by falling debris including a hospital, school, homes, and cars.

The Associated Press cites the experience of an eyewitness to this latest strike, who told the wires service: “Around 3 a.m. there was a strike over there. I woke up and saw the fire. My door was smashed, I woke up my mom and ran to the corridor… Then we went down and ran outside. We saw people running. Windows were shattered and balconies destroyed.”

The strike is the latest in a recent wave of greatly intensified attacks by Russia against Ukrainian civilian targets. While in earlier stages of the war Kyiv could go weeks without such a raid, now they are nearly nightly: a British bulletin on the war noted this week “Russia has launched 20 nights of one-way-attack uncrewed aerial vehicle and cruise missile attacks deep inside Ukraine.”

KYIV, UKRAINE – JUNE 1: People stand inside a damaged during a Russian missile attack clinic, on June 1, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. At least three were killed, including a child, and others were injured by falling debris from intercepted missiles. Russia has targeted Kyiv with near daily air strikes in the last week, a combination of missile and drone attacks. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/Getty Images)

Nevertheless, it noted, Russia has not had success in neutralising Ukrainian air defense despite high-profile claims made by Russia that it had taken out one of Ukraine’s new, U.S.-supplied Patriot air defence systems.

While the bombardment of cities has been a pretty one-sided affair so far, with Ukraine as the invaded party taking the vast majority of damage, the last month has seen what appear to be retaliatory strikes by Ukraine against Russia as well. Early in May there were at least two claimed attempts to bomb the Kremlin using ‘suicide’ bomber drones, and this past weekend a wave of drones struck Moscow.

Ukraine, for its own reasons, denies that it is responsible for these drone strikes, claiming they are the work of Russian revolutionaries trying to bring down the Putin government. Regardless, Russia’s response to the attacks has been one characterised by its total lack of irony as they complain of being the victims of terror attacks, despite regularly inflicting considerably worse on Ukraine.

KYIV, UKRAINE – JUNE 1: Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko with others look at a crater outside a clinic following a Russian missile attack, on June 1, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. At least three were killed, including a child, and others were injured by falling debris from intercepted missiles. Russia has targeted Kyiv with near daily air strikes in the last week, a combination of missile and drone attacks. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/Getty Images)

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