Russian barrages at nighttime have become commonplace in Kyiv. Daylight attacks cause a different level of terror.
The Kremlin followed the former with the latter Monday, sending residents of the Ukrainian capital scurrying for cover from ballistic and cruise missiles in the late morning after a drone and missile fusillade several hours before. City officials said it was the 16th air assault on Kyiv this month.
Even though Ukrainian chief of staff Valerii Zaluzhnyi said all 11 of the rockets fired at Kyiv around 11:30 a.m. were shot down, the sound of air sirens and the sight of white smoke above the city prompted the locals to scamper in fear and pack the central subway station, Tetatralna, to seek shelter.
“After what happened last night, I react sharply to every siren now,” said Alina Ksenofontova, 50, who was among those taking refuge at the station along with her dog. “I was terrified, and I’m still trembling.”
Flaming debris from the intercepted missiles fell in Kyiv’s central and northern districts, landing in the middle of traffic on a city road and also starting a fire on a building’s roof, the Kyiv military administration said. One injury was reported.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video of what he said were frightened schoolchildren running and screaming as they headed toward a Kyiv bomb shelter amid the sound of sirens. “This is what an ordinary weekday looks like,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, vowed a prompt response in an apparent reference to the military’s long-expected counteroffensive.
“All those who tried to intimidate us, dreaming that it would have some effect, you will regret it very soon,” Budanov said in a statement. “Our response will not be delayed.”
Developments:
◾ The Ukrainian military said it shot down 37 of the 40 cruise missiles and 29 of the 35 drones Russia launched across the country Sunday night.
◾ In Russia’s southern Belgorod region, where forces Ukraine calls anti-Kremlin insurgents and Russia regards as Ukrainian saboteurs have been launching attacks, one person was killed in the village of Grafovka by what Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said was Ukrainian shelling.
Russia issues arrest warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham
The Russian government intensified the response to what it interpreted as provocative comments from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, issuing a warrant for his arrest Monday. He was already one of more than 200 members of Congress barred last year from entering Russian territory.
Graham paid a weekend visit to Zelenskyy, whose office released an edited video of their meeting with Graham pointing out “the Russians are dying” and describing the U.S. military assistance to Ukraine as “the best money we’ve ever spent.” The remarks appear to have been made separately but were next to each other on the video, evoking the Russian outrage.
On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said “it’s hard to imagine a greater shame for the country than having such senators.” The Interior Ministry followed Monday by adding Graham’s name to its official record of wanted criminal suspects.
The longtime senator did not back down, saying on Twitter: “To know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime brings me immense joy,” then added, “I will wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin’s corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
