Russia Pounds Kyiv with Missiles, Ukraine’s Military Says 

Firemen work to extinguish a fire in a building of the International Academy of Personnel Management after a missile attack in Kyiv on September 2, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP) 
Firemen work to extinguish a fire in a building of the International Academy of Personnel Management after a missile attack in Kyiv on September 2, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP) 
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Russia Pounds Kyiv with Missiles, Ukraine’s Military Says 

Firemen work to extinguish a fire in a building of the International Academy of Personnel Management after a missile attack in Kyiv on September 2, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP) 
Firemen work to extinguish a fire in a building of the International Academy of Personnel Management after a missile attack in Kyiv on September 2, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (AFP) 

Russia pounded Ukraine's capital of Kyiv with missiles early on Monday, while falling debris from the downed weapons injured at least two people, sparking fires and damaging homes and infrastructure, officials said.

Ukraine's air defense units destroyed more than 10 cruise missiles and nearly 10 ballistic missiles, the city's military administration said on the Telegram messaging app.

Air raid alerts went out across Ukraine for nearly two hours before the air force declared the skies clear at 0330 GMT. Neighboring NATO member Poland activated Polish and allied aircraft to keep its airspace safe during the attacks.

A boiler house at a Kyiv water plant was partially damaged as was the entrance to a metro station doubling as a bomb shelter in the Svyatoshynksyi district, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, though the station still operates.

The district is home to a cluster of universities and schools.

The attack injured at least two people, Klitschko said. Cars were set ablaze across the city as well as a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, he added.

Emergency services also went to the districts of Svyatoshynksyi, Holosiivskyi, and Solomyanskyi, where debris fell from destroyed missiles, Klitschko added.

Solomyanskyi is home to a major train station and Kyiv's main airport. The historic neighborhood of Svyatoshynksyi is on the city's western edge, while Holosiivskyi is in its southwest.

Reuters' witnesses in Kyiv heard a series of loud explosions in what sounded like the work of air defense units, some in the central area.

The attack came exactly a week after Moscow launched more than 200 missiles and drones on Ukraine, killing seven people and striking energy facilities nationwide in what Kyiv called the war's "most massive" attack.

Russia denies targeting civilians in the 30-month-old war unleashed by Moscow's invasion of its smaller neighbor.



North Korea’s Kim Pushes for Regional Development with Construction Projects, KCNA Reports 

This picture taken on August 31, 2024 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on September 2, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a consultative meeting for a regional development project at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) /
This picture taken on August 31, 2024 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on September 2, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a consultative meeting for a regional development project at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) /
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North Korea’s Kim Pushes for Regional Development with Construction Projects, KCNA Reports 

This picture taken on August 31, 2024 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on September 2, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a consultative meeting for a regional development project at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) /
This picture taken on August 31, 2024 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on September 2, 2024 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a consultative meeting for a regional development project at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) /

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for developing health, science and education facilities in rural areas alongside factories, state media KCNA reported on Monday, amid concerns over economic hardships and poor living conditions.

Kim convened a high-level meeting on Saturday as the ruling Workers' Party seeks to adopt a "new important decision" to speed up rural development under his "Regional Development 20×10 Policy" aimed at opening modernized factories in at least 20 remote counties every year for the next 10 years, KCNA reported.

He has been pushing to modernize the farming industry and rural communities because North Korea's economy relies heavily on agriculture but continues to struggle with food shortages amid sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs as well as seasonal impacts from natural disasters.

Kim said the construction of health, science and grain management facilities in cities and counties is an essential, urgent task in accelerating and improving regional development, according to KCNA.

"Building light industry factories in local areas ... alone is not enough to provide the regional people across the country with a sustained and improved material and cultural life," KCNA quoted him as telling the meeting.

Kim ordered prioritizing the completion of modern health facilities "without fail" in the face of any challenges, KCNA said.

"He said that it is his first cherished desire to build city and county hospitals which will greatly contribute to improving the regional health situation (that is) relatively inferior, and promoting the life and security and health of local people," it added.

The country has launched a new military unit and mobilized troops nationwide to spur the construction initiative, but South Korean officials and experts have questioned its feasibility, citing a lack of resources given Pyongyang has long prioritized its weapons programs.