Russia unleashes air strikes on Kyiv as the Ukrainian capital marks its birthday

Russia unleashed a large two-wave overnight aerial onslaught connected Kyiv that killed astatine slightest 1 person, officials said, arsenic the Ukrainian superior prepares to observe its day connected Sunday.

Air defence systems downed astatine slightest 20 drones moving towards Kyiv, with falling debris sidesplitting a 41-year-old antheral and injuring a 35-year-old pistillate successful the city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The pre-dawn attacks came connected the past Sunday of May erstwhile the superior celebrates Kyiv Day, the day of its authoritative founding 1,541 years ago. The time is typically marked by thoroughfare fairs, unrecorded concerts and peculiar depository exhibitions - plans for which person been made this twelvemonth too, but connected a smaller scale.

"The past of Ukraine is simply a long-standing irritant for the insecure Russians," Andriy Yermak, the caput of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, said connected his Telegram channel.

Several districts of Kyiv, by acold the largest Ukrainian metropolis with a colonisation of astir 3 million, suffered successful the overnight attacks, officials said, including the humanities Pecherskyi neighborhood.

Reuters witnesses said that during the aerial raid alerts that started soon aft midnight, galore radical stood connected their balconies, immoderate screaming offensives directed astatine Russia's President Vladimir Putin and "Glory to aerial defense" slogans.

With a Ukrainian counteroffensive looming 15 months into the war, Moscow has intensified rocket and drone strikes this period aft a lull of astir 2 months, targeting subject facilities and supplies. Waves of attacks present travel respective times a week.

In the leafy Holosiivskyi territory successful the southwestern portion of Kyiv, falling debris acceptable a three-story warehouse connected fire, destroying astir 1,000 quadrate meters (10,800 quadrate feet) of gathering structures, Mayor Klitschko said.

A occurrence broke retired aft falling drone debris deed a seven-story non-residential gathering successful the Solomyanskyi territory westbound of the city. The territory is simply a engaged obstruction and aerial transport hub.

In the Pecherskyi district, a occurrence broke retired connected the extortion of a nine-story gathering owed to falling drone debris, Kyiv's subject medication officials said connected Telegram.