Russia attacked Ukraine’s capital early on Monday with Iranian-made drones, continuing its campaign of lethal strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian targets even as it faces significant setbacks on the battlefield.

At least four people were killed in Kyiv, the capital, where the buzzing sound of the drones was followed by explosions. The attacks came during morning rush hour, one week after Moscow unleashed a missile barrage across the country that left at least 19 people dead. While Monday’s strikes were less deadly, they again struck fear into Ukrainians far from the front lines and signalled Russia’s aim of crippling power and other key services as winter looms.

A separate attack in the northeastern region of Sumy killed at least three people on Monday, the regional governor said, when Russian missiles struck an infrastructure target.

The strikes in the capital highlighted Russia’s growing use of the Iranian-made drones known as “kamikazes,” which explode on impact and are easier to shoot down, as western analysts say Moscow’s stocks of precision missiles are running low. While Iran has officially denied supplying Russia with drones for use in Ukraine, US officials said that the first batch of such weapons was delivered in August. Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia had fired 43 of the drones on Monday, but 37 were shot down by air defence systems.

Vitaly Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said that 28 drones were spotted over the city, resulting in five strikes. Ukraine’s Air Force scrambled jets to chase and shoot the drones, while some were shot down by Ukrainian troops who fired into the air. The targets included the headquarters of Ukraine’s national energy utility and a municipal heating station.

Klitschko said at least four people were killed in the strikes in Kyiv. Among the dead were a young couple, including a woman who was six months pregnant, pulled from the wreckage of a residential building, Klitschko said.

Serhiy Kruk, head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, said 18 people were hurt, including two rescue workers who were responding to an initial strike when a second hit in the same area.

New York Times News Service