Russian attack kills 4 people in Kiev

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

KYIV, Ukraine  — Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital with a barrage of drones and missiles Saturday, leaving at least four 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.

Four people were killed after a shot-down missile fell over the Shevchenkivskyi district, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Timur Tkachenko. There was also falling debris in the Desnyansky district, he said.

Kiev’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said that in the Shevchenkivskyi district, windows were broken and there was smoke at the entrance of a residential building, adding that a water supply pipeline was also damaged.

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.

Klitschko also said the Lukyanivska metro station was shuttered after the attacks damaged its glass entrance.

The office of Ukraine’s general prosecutor said in a statement that an investigation has been launched into the missile attack. The victims were a security guard at a food establishment and three people who were in a minibus on the street, it said.

Drones and missiles were shot down across Ukraine, in the Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kiev, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Donetsk regions.

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.