Two Hospitalized, Buildings Damaged in Kyiv by Russian Drone Strike Overnight

Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
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Two Hospitalized, Buildings Damaged in Kyiv by Russian Drone Strike Overnight

Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Russian forces targeted Kyiv with a barrage of self-exploding Iranian-made Shahed drones early Thursday morning, according to the Kyiv City Administration.
Explosions were heard in different parts of the city, and debris from intercepted drones fell on four districts of the Ukrainian capital, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs. Buildings were damaged, and two people hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, The Associated Press said.
Earlier, the municipal authority wrote on Telegram that debris fell on five districts.
Ukraine’s Air Forces reported that Russia fired a total of 20 drones, mostly at the Kyiv region, and that all 20 were shot down. The Ukrainian military also intercepted two cruise missiles. The statement also reported that one ballistic missile was not intercepted, although it did not explain what damage the missile caused.
Rescuers extinguished a fire in a 16-story building, as well as in a non-residential building, according to the Interior Ministry. Debris also “damaged the facade” of a 25-story apartment building, the ministry wrote.
Volodymyr Motus, a 22-year-old resident of the 25-story building, carefully picked his way across the floor of a destroyed apartment, his footsteps accompanied by the sound of shattered glass. The mangled furniture was coated in a thick layer of dust.
“I was in my apartment and suddenly I heard a boom, that’s all. Then the alarm went off and I went down to the shelter.”
He said that some people were injured, but they were all alive.



NATO Chief Rutte Says Zelenskiy's Criticism of Germany's Scholz is Unfair

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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NATO Chief Rutte Says Zelenskiy's Criticism of Germany's Scholz is Unfair

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he considered the sometimes harsh criticism of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be unjustified, news wire DPA reported.
Although Germany has been a vital ally of Ukraine, its hesitation in providing long-range Taurus cruise missiles has been a source of frustration in Kyiv, which is battling a foe armed with a powerful array of long-range weaponry, Reuters reported.
"I have often told Zelenskiy that he should stop criticizing Olaf Scholz, because I think it is unfair," DPA quoted Rutte on Monday as saying in an interview.
Rutte also said that he, unlike Scholz, would supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles and would not set limits on their use.
"In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine," Rutte said, adding that it was not up to him to decide what allies should deliver.
After a November telephone call by Scholz with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in November, Zelenskiy said it had opened a Pandora's box that undermined efforts to isolate the Russian leader and end the war in Ukraine with a "fair peace".