New Delhi: Russian forces resumed drone attacks on Ukraine’s Kyiv region on Friday for a second consecutive day, killing one person and damaging residential buildings, warehouses and vehicles, according to Ukrainian officials. The strikes came amid continuing attacks on logistics and energy infrastructure, with authorities in southern Kherson warning that severe damage to the city’s main combined heat and power plant could affect electricity and heating through the winter.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration, said 14 warehouses, 16 private homes, three apartment buildings and 16 vehicles had been damaged across the Fastiv, Boryspil, Vyshhorod, Brovary and Bucha districts.
One person was killed in the Bucha district and two others were wounded, Ukrainian officials said. One of the injured was hospitalised with multiple shrapnel wounds.
The latest strikes followed another round of Russian attacks on the region a day earlier, adding to pressure on emergency services and transport networks around the Ukrainian capital.
Second strike hits after rescuers arrive
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said a second drone struck one location after emergency crews had arrived following the initial attack.
Associated Press reported that the Ukrainian military describes such repeat strikes as “double tap” attacks, in which the same site is hit again after first responders arrive. The circumstances of the second strike were reported by Ukrainian authorities.
The attacks continued into daylight hours, with officials repeatedly urging residents to observe air-raid warnings and remain in shelters.
Reuters reported that Ukraine’s state emergency service recorded 38 attacks on the Kyiv region over a 24-hour period. Rail services were also affected by repeated air alerts and strikes, with delays from the previous day continuing into Friday.
A depot belonging to Ukrainian private postal company Nova Poshta was hit in the Kyiv region. The company also said four Russian glide bombs destroyed one of its sorting centres in the northern Sumy region.
A separate Russian glide-bomb attack in the Sumy region killed a 61-year-old man and wounded seven people, according to Ukrainian officials.
Russia claims Flamingo missile warehouse hit
The Russian defence ministry said its forces had struck a warehouse complex in the Kyiv region that was being used to store Flamingo cruise missiles and rocket booster fuel.
Ukrainian authorities did not immediately confirm the claim. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify whether the warehouse contained missiles or military fuel.
Other warehouses damaged in attacks in Kyiv and surrounding areas have included facilities storing books, food and consumer goods.
Andrii Kovalenko, who heads Ukraine’s counter disinformation centre, said Russia was launching small numbers of fast moving, jet-powered drones in successive waves.
He said the attacks were intended to wear down Ukraine’s air defences and civilian population. That assessment represents the Ukrainian government’s view and has not been independently established.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 164 drones overnight. It did not report missiles as part of that particular overnight barrage.
Kherson faces winter power and heating crisis
In southern Ukraine, authorities are assessing extensive damage to Kherson’s combined heat and power plant after another Russian attack.
Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz said Russian forces struck the plant with four guided aerial bombs overnight on August 27, destroying all remaining heat and power generating equipment at the facility. The plant is an important source of heating for residential areas of Kherson.
Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, said the extent of the damage meant authorities could no longer expect the plant and other critical infrastructure to operate normally during the coming winter.
“Kherson may be without electricity and heat not for hours or days, but for a long time,” Prokudin said in a social media post cited by the Associated Press.
Regional authorities have urged residents, particularly vulnerable people and those able to relocate, to consider moving to safer parts of Ukraine. Officials said assistance would be provided for evacuation, transport, resettlement and social support.
Prokudin said Russian forces had dropped 170 glide bombs on the Kherson region since July 1, more than during the first six months of this year. He also said the region had faced more than 1,700 attack drones over the past two months. Both figures were provided by the Ukrainian regional administration.
Kherson city remains under Ukrainian control on the western side of the Dnipro River. Russian forces hold the eastern bank and much of the wider Kherson region, leaving the city exposed to frequent drone, artillery and aerial attacks.
Ukraine strikes targets inside Russia
The exchange of long-range attacks also continued inside Russia. Ukraine’s general staff said Ukrainian forces struck the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Russia’s Yaroslavl region, causing a fire.
The refinery produces petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, fuel oil and lubricants, according to the Ukrainian military. The extent of the damage was still being assessed.
Separately, the governor of Russia’s Yaroslavl region, Mikhail Yevrayev, said a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and wounded 27, including 10 people injured after drone debris fell on a bus. He said industrial infrastructure, residential areas and retail facilities were affected.
The Russian defence ministry separately claimed that its air defences had shot down 512 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, Crimea and the Black Sea. The figure has not been independently verified.
The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, said a drone also struck a supermarket, damaging the building and shattering windows at a nearby outpatient clinic.
Russian-installed authorities in Sevastopol separately said a five-storey residential building was damaged and four people were wounded. Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine were continuing on Friday as Ukrainian air defences and emergency teams responded to strikes around Kyiv and other regions.
In Kherson, authorities were assessing how to maintain electricity and heating following the latest damage to critical infrastructure and were advising residents on evacuation where necessary ahead of the winter months.