Government offices in Kiev hit by drones – officials

Two government buildings were damaged by a Russian drone attack in Kiev on Wednesday, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Kirill Timoshenko, has said.

According to Sergey Popko, the head of Ukraine’s military administration, Kiev was hit by “two waves of attacks by enemy drones,” during which 13 UAVs were destroyed by air defense forces.

“The parts of downed drones have hit an administrative building, while four residential buildings were also slightly damaged,” Popko said. He added that no one was hurt.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the matter yet. Moscow has stepped up strikes in Ukraine in recent months, with the Defense Ministry saying that it only targets military sites and energy infrastructure that is being used for military purposes, such as powering the transport of troops and hardware to the front.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the strikes were a response to “terrorist attacks” on Russian soil, including the bombing of a strategic bridge in Crimea in October.

Russian officials, meanwhile, have accused Ukrainian troops of intense shelling of civilians. Authorities in the southern city of Melitopol said rockets hit a hotel and a restaurant complex on Saturday night, killing two people. Officials in Donetsk reported that at least five civilians, including two children, were injured on Sunday.