By Anna Voitenko and Anna Pruchnicka
KYIV, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the surrounding region stretched into the fifth day on Monday, with near round-the-clock air raid sirens disrupting daily life for millions.
The attacks early on Monday injured four people and damaged warehouse facilities, an apartment block and a retail outlet in the Kyiv region, regional governor Tymur Tkachenko said on Telegram.
Swarms of drones, many of them powered by jet engines, have plagued Kyiv and nearby areas in recent days, killing residents, damaging homes and warehouses. A Russian drone strike on an ammunition depot on Friday sparked explosions, killing 38 people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday the constant drone attacks were aimed at wearing down Ukrainians. In four days, Russia launched nearly 1,500 drones at Ukraine, with more than half jet-powered, he said.
A Russian strike also caused a fire at a terminal operated by private courier Nova Poshta in the southern Odesa region, Governor Oleh Kiper said on Monday.
In the southeastern city of Kryvyi Rih, a jet-powered drone attack on an industrial business injured two people, a local official said on Monday.
Both Ukraine and Russia have stepped up strikes in recent weeks on economic targets like major e-commerce players and retailers, with Russia targeting warehouses for Ukraine’s premier supermarket chains, top postal service and home-goods stores.
Ukraine has also targeted Russian infrastructure. A logistics hub in Russia’s Yekaterinburg came under a drone attack, the local governor said on Monday.
AIR RAID SIRENS DISRUPT COMMUTE IN KYIV
Russia has intensified its air attacks over this summer, seizing on Ukraine’s shortage of interceptors capable of downing ballistic missiles. But the growing use of daytime drone waves has created a different kind of disruption for Kyiv residents, halting the metro and upending daily routines.
Dozens of passengers waited on crowded platforms in Kyiv for the service to resume after trains stopped crossing the Dnipro river during the alerts.
Among them was 38-year-old nurse and psychologist Yulianna Oliynyk, who was trying to reach a school with her two sons ahead of the start of the academic year. Another air raid alert left them stranded on a metro platform.
“We’ve been waiting for about an hour, maybe,” Oliynyk told Reuters as her sons, 11-year-old Adrian and 7-year-old Demian, rested on the platform.
She said the family had been forced to spend the previous night with relatives after alerts disrupted their journey home.
“I’m already thinking maybe we should just take sleeping bags and sleep in the metro at the station near the lyceum … Last year it was difficult at school and now I honestly don’t even know what to do. I just don’t know.”
(Reporting by Anna Voitenko in Kyiv and Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Ros Russell)
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