Explosions rocked Kyiv on Monday as dozens of armed drones released by Russian forces set fire to buildings, killed at least four people and forced residents to take shelter.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said most of the 28 drones targeting Kyiv were shot down, but explosions were heard across the city. A strike seems to target the city’s heating network; another nearly destroyed a four-story apartment building, collapsing at least three apartments on top of each other.
Four deaths have been reported in a single apartment building, Klitschko said.
He said the drones were Iranian-made Shaheds, which Russia renamed Geran-2 drones. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday denied that Iran had supplied drones to Russia.
The attack came a week after Russia’s massive barrage of missile strikes in Kyiv and other major cities in Ukraine killed at least 20 people. This assault was the first to reach Kyiv in four months.
“Enemies may attack our cities, but they won’t break us,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address.
Other developments
►The European Union on Monday approved a program to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Europe and agreed to provide nearly $500 million in additional funds to help provide arms and other military support to Ukraine.
►Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, will host 9,000 Russian troops and 170 tanks as part of a new Russian-Belarusian joint military force. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the effort responded to his unsubstantiated claim that Ukraine was planning an attack on its ex-Soviet neighbour.
►NATO began its annual nuclear exercises in northwestern Europe on Monday. Fourteen of NATO’s 30 member countries were to take part in the drills, which were planned before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
►Four Russians are detained in Norway after being accused of taking photos in areas where photography is prohibited. Norwegian authorities declined to provide further information and are continuing their investigation. The Russians say they are just tourists.
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Ukrainian conductor reportedly killed for refusing Russian concert
A Ukrainian philharmonic conductor was shot dead in his home by Russian soldiers after refusing to take part in a propaganda concert in Russian-occupied Kherson, Ukraine’s culture ministry said. Yuri Kerpatenko has been conducting in Kherson since 2000 and was the principal conductor of the Gilea Chamber Orchestra, the ministry said in a Facebook post quoting local journalist Elena Vanina.
“Kerpatenko openly showed his civic position and refused to leave occupied Kherson,” the ministry said.
The Russians wanted the orchestra as part of a concert to demonstrate “the improvement of peaceful life” in Kherson under Russian rule, but Kerpatenko refused to cooperate, the ministry said.
Ukraine wants sanctions against Iran for supplying drones to Russia
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with deadly drones. EU foreign ministers were meeting in Luxembourg on Monday to adopt a set of sanctions against Iran in connection with the violation of human rights and will also examine evidence regarding Iran’s involvement in the arms supply to Russia. Iran denies any involvement.
“I’m probably the first foreign minister to address the EU FAC from a bomb shelter because of the air raid siren,” Kuleba said in a Twitter post that also urged the EU to approve another set of “strong” sanctions for Russia.
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant again loses external energy due to shelling
The Ukrainian nuclear energy company Energoatom claims that the external power supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has again been cut off due to the bombardment by Russian forces which hit an electrical substation on Ukrainian territory. Operators have been forced to temporarily use diesel generators to power the plant’s safety systems, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. All six reactors have been shut down amid the fighting, but the plant needs power to ensure critical safety systems remain operational.
Energoatom and international atomic energy experts have repeatedly called for a demilitarization of the plant and the withdrawal of Russian forces from around it.
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Contributor: The Associated Press