Paris Soir - Russia pummels Kyiv in latest deadly daytime attack

Kyiv has increasingly been facing a round-the-clock bombardment of Russian drones and missiles, intensifying Europe's worst conflict since World War II to levels unseen since just after it began in 2022.

The capital, where petrol stations, the transport network and communications infrastructure as well as residential buildings have been hit, again came under fire, after an air force alert warning of approaching drones.

Video footage shared online showed what appeared to be a high-speed drone smashing into the National Academy of Sciences at a sharp angle, exploding and sending acrid smoke into the blue skies above.

People were seen leaning out of windows for fresh air as bright orange flames engulfed part of the building.

"A fire broke out. Employees were inside at the time of the strike," Ukraine's Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky said. "Preliminary reports indicate that one person was killed and four were injured."

Central Kyiv is usually well-protected from Russian attacks, and the National Academy of Sciences is close to the German embassy, a cathedral, the national opera and government buildings.

But cultural sites, government buildings and schools have all been targeted before, according to the authorities in Kyiv.

Earlier this month, a Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security services.

The academy called the attack "Russian terror" and "barbarity", targeting "peaceful people who were simply at their workplaces... Ukrainian science, education and culture".

Elsewhere, Russian strikes killed four and wounded at least 19 at a business centre in the central city of Dnipro while there were unspecified fatalities and several children wounded when a residential area was hit in eastern Kharkiv.

The prime minister said in the Zhytomyr region west of Kyiv, Russian forces damaged an ice cream factory and residential buildings were hit in Sumy, in the north, Rivne, in the northwest, and southern Odesa.

"The danger persists in many regions. The enemy is intensifying its terror. I urge citizens not to ignore the alerts and to stay in safe places whenever possible," he warned.

- Winter fears -

In recent months, Russia has been deploying newer jet-powered drones that move faster and are harder to intercept than the traditional models, based on Iranian Shahed drones.

President Volodymyr Zelensky last week renewed his appeal to Ukraine's Western allies to step up their military support, including for US-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing powerful ballistic missiles.

His request comes as Ukrainians consider their options with winter approaching, after Russian attacks last year on energy infrastructure cut power and heating as temperatures plunged to as low as -20C.

In an interview with Ukrainian television broadcast on Sunday night, Koretsky stopped short of saying that all residents in cities should leave before winter sets in, calling that an "extreme step".

But he indicated that vulnerable people should relocate, to avoid overloading the hard-pressed emergency services as they deal with the aftermath of the relentless Russian strikes.

"If a person lives, for example, on the 16th floor and for instance the power gets cut, why at that moment, when the state emergency service specialists need to focus on dealing with the consequences, should we be... handling people who need extra attention?" he told TSN television.

"For such people, it's worth finding an alternative place to stay for the winter period."

Meanwhile, European defence ministers discussed whether the bloc needed its own NATO-style emergency mechanism to bolster coordination against "hybrid attacks" by Russia.

European governments say Moscow is stepping up its campaign of sabotage and interference against Ukraine's supporters, as Kremlin troops struggle to make headway on the frontlines, more than four years after their full-scale invasion.

B.Mercier--PS