Kyiv was struck by "kamikaze drones," the head of Ukraine's presidential office said early on Monday. Mayor Vitali Klitschko later confirmed the report on Telegram. Klitschko said four bodies were recovered, including those of a woman who was 6 months pregnant, and her husband. He added that several residential buildings had been damaged and that rescuers had pulled out 18 people from the rubble. According to witnesses, several of the blasts hit the central Shevchenko district, which was also rocked by explosions last week.
DW correspondent Fanny Facsar was on the scene of one of the strikes that hit a residential building, leaving it "immensely damaged." She said it was "unclear how many people [were] trapped underneath the rubble." Facsar also reported hearing several blasts in the Ukrainian capital about an hour after the initial drone strikes. The Shevchenko district is a busy area with universities, bars and restaurants. Last week, a barrage of Russian missiles struck Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in the most widespread Russian strikes since the war began in February. At least 19 people were killed and over 100 others wounded. "The enemy can attack our cities, but it won't be able to break us. The occupiers will get only fair punishment and condemnation of future generations," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Monday, in response to the drone strikes. Last week's deadly assault sparked international outcry and a new push from Germany and the United States to deliver air defense systems. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strikes last week were retaliation for a blast on a bridge linking mainland Russia to Crimea. He had also said in a speech on Friday that there was no need for more massive strikes on Ukraine "for now."
Many of Russia's attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks - including strikes on civilian areas and infrastructure - have used what Ukraineians say are Iranian-made DRONES. Iran officially denies selling drones to Russia - but analysts say Iranian instructors are on the ground in Ukraine training Russian soldiers in how to use them. So what are these drones - and why is Russia using them? We talk to Ulrike Franke, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in London and an expert on drones and artificial intelligence.
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