Russian forces launched drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight on Thursday, after each side blamed the other for explosions at the Kremlin that raised fears of an escalation in the war. In the capital, Kyiv, Ukrainian air defences shot down drones and ballistic-style missiles, a regional official said, in the third Russian attack on the city in four days. In the southern city of Odesa, the Ukrainian military’s southern command said drones were shot down and provided images that suggested that some had the handwritten messages “For Moscow” and “For the Kremlin” on them.
There were no reports of casualties in those incidents. But in the southern region of Kherson, officials raised the death toll from Russian shelling on Wednesday to 23 people, making it one of the deadliest barrages in Ukraine this year. The US and Ukraine both said they feared that Russia would seek to intensify attacks after the explosions over the Kremlin on Wednesday, which were apparently caused by drones. Russia blamed Ukraine for the episode, calling it an assassination attempt on President Vladimir V. Putin, and said it reserved the right to retaliate. Ukraine, which typically maintains deliberate ambiguity over responsibility for attacks inside Russia, categorically denied involvement and accused Moscow of manufacturing the incident as a pretext for further aggression and to stir up public support.
Early on Thursday, it remained unclear who was responsible for the explosions, which occurred 15 minutes apart. The US embassy in Kyiv issued a warning late on Wednesday that there was a heightened risk of Russian missile attacks. Early on Thursday in Kyiv, three loud booms rattled windows at about 2:30 am (local time) and the police cordoned off what appeared to be debris from a missile or drone shot out of the sky. Some nearby windows were shattered, and the smell of smoke hung in the air.
Russian forces also attacked Odesa with at least 15 drones, Ukraine’s southern military command said. The Ukrainians shot down 12, but three got through the air defence network.
New York Times News Service
