Russia’s night attack wounds eight in Kyiv, Ukraine says

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By Max Hunder

KYIV (Reuters) -A Russian overnight air attack wounded eight residents of an apartment building in Kyiv, including a three-year-old child, authorities said on Monday, while the Ukrainian air force said a town hosting a key air base had been attacked.

Four of those injured in the capital were admitted to hospital with one in serious condition, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Telegram.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 324 drones and seven missiles overnight, and that their main target was Starokostyantyniv in western Ukraine, home to a major air base.

It said 15 drones and two missiles had hit targets in three locations, but did not specify where.

Russia invaded its neighbour three and a half years ago. Its repeated night-time air attacks, sometimes involving hundreds of drones, are often accompanied by a handful of missiles to try to overwhelm air defences.

The capital and most of Ukraine were under air raid alerts for several hours overnight. Polish aircraft were also scrambled to ensure the safety of national airspace. 

Those wounded in Kyiv were residents of a multi-storey apartment building in the Darnytskyi district, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The full scale of the Russian attack on Ukraine was not immediately known. There was no comment from Russia.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war. However, thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian. 

(Writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Kim Coghill, Saad Sayeed and Kevin Liffey)