Amid the ongoing war, Russia launched a ballistic missile along with a wave of drones targeting Ukraine's capital, Kyiv on Wednesday. Ukrainian officials confirmed that at least two people were killed after the attack struck residential buildings. The Kyiv City Military Administration, in a Telegram update, reported that eight others were wounded, including four children.
The attack came before Russia's planned unilateral 72-hour ceasefire in the more than three-year war to coincide with celebrations in Moscow marking Victory Day in World War II. The US has proposed a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine has accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for ceasefire terms more to its liking. The Kremlin said that the truce, ordered on "humanitarian grounds," would start on Thursday and last through Saturday to mark the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expecting foreign dignitaries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, to watch a military parade in Red Square during the 80th anniversary celebrations. Any Ukrainian attack, like Tuesday's drone barrage that forced all four international airports around Moscow to temporarily suspend flights, would be embarrassing for the Russian leader.
The Kremlin announced on Tuesday that Putin will travel to China at the end of August and beginning of September. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Moscow has drawn closer to China as Western countries sought to isolate Putin diplomatically. Russia has become increasingly dependent economically on China because of Western sanctions.
At least one ballistic missile and 28 Russian drones were recorded in Kyiv's airspace, authorities said. Air defense forces shot down the missile and 11 drones. A five-story residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district in the center of the capital was hit by drone debris, sparking a fire in several apartments where the victims were found, he said. Four people, including three children, were hospitalized, while others received treatment on site.
(With inputs from AP)
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