Russian strikes near Ukraine’s capital killed two people and wounded several others on Monday, regional authorities said, as a fresh wave of attacks overnight left at least a dozen people dead across the country and knocked out power in freezing temperatures.
In a post on Telegram, Mykola Kalashnyk, head of the Kyiv region’s military administration, said a man and a woman were killed in the Bilogorodska community west of the capital. Four other people sought medical assistance following the strike, he added.
- Advertisement -
The regional report came amid what Ukrainian authorities described as a deadly barrage nationwide. At least 12 people were killed in attacks “last night,” officials said, including five passengers aboard a train struck in a drone attack. The accounts could not be independently verified.
The strikes compounded hardship for residents facing winter conditions. Ukrainian officials said the bombardment had left many without electricity, cutting heat and light as temperatures hover around freezing in parts of the country. Images shared by local administrations showed emergency crews clearing debris and assessing damage to homes and public infrastructure.
The Kyiv region, which encircles but does not include the capital city, has faced periodic missile and drone attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. Monday’s strike underscored the continued vulnerability of communities on the capital’s outskirts even as air defenses intercept many incoming threats.
Officials did not release additional details about the train incident, including its route or the type of drone used. Ukraine’s rail network has been a lifeline for civilians and the economy throughout the war, carrying millions of evacuees and supplies while operating under constant risk from air and missile strikes.
The latest casualties came despite a recent diplomatic overture. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in the United Arab Emirates last week for talks brokered by the United States and aimed at ending the conflict, according to Ukrainian authorities. The renewed fighting since then highlighted the steep challenge facing any effort to halt the war’s daily toll on civilians and critical infrastructure.
Since the first weeks of the invasion, both sides have accused each other of targeting non-combatants; Russia has repeatedly said it does not strike civilians, while Ukraine says Moscow’s attacks routinely hit residential neighborhoods and energy facilities. Monday’s reports did not indicate any military targets at the sites where civilians were killed.
As emergency responders worked at the strike locations, regional administrations urged residents to heed air-raid alerts and seek shelter during sirens. Authorities also warned that repair crews would need time to restore electricity and heating where infrastructure was damaged, a familiar refrain in a war that has stretched Ukraine’s power grid through multiple winter seasons.
Kalashnyk did not provide an updated tally for the wounded in the Kyiv region or say whether search efforts were ongoing in Bilogorodska. He offered condolences to the families of those killed in the regional strike.
The attacks added to a grim ledger for a country bracing for more cold-weather disruptions and more long-range strikes. Even as battlefield lines shift only incrementally, the pressure on cities and towns far from the front remains intense—and for many, deadly.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
