Firefighters work at a site of an apartment building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Hlevakha, Kyiv region, Ukraine January 24, 2025. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv region/Handout via REUTERS
KYIV (Reuters) -Russia launched a barrage of drones in an overnight attack on Ukraine on Friday, killing three civilians and damaging residential and commercial buildings, officials said.
The interior ministry said that drone debris had killed two men and a woman in the central Kyiv region, and that another person was injured. The attack damaged a multi-story residential apartment building, eight private houses, commercial buildings, and several private cars, Kyiv regional officials said.
The Ukrainian air force said that air defence units and mobile drone hunting groups shot down 25 of 58 Russian drones and 27 other drones were "lost", referring to Kyiv's use of electronic hardware to redirect them.
As the war approaches the three-year mark, Russia has stepped up its air attacks on Ukraine, sending dozens of drones almost every night.
Ukrainian officials have said that Russian forces launched more than 7,000 drones in 2024, at least twice as many as in 2023. Most were shot down or redirected by electronic warfare, but many still hit their targets.
Moscow denies targeting civilians.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash. Editing by Gerry Doyle and Ros Russell)
