Russia unleashes barrage as Kyiv children prepare to return to school

Russia launched an overnight barrage of drones and missiles at Kyiv as children in Ukraine prepared to return to school, officials said early Monday.

Debris from intercepted missiles and drones fell in Kyiv and air raid alerts lasted until 6:30 a.m. local time before children set out to begin their school year.

Ukraine said it destroyed 22 out of 35 missiles and 20 of 23 attack drones, Reuters reported.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs shared photos online, saying each district in Kyiv was hit. Three people were injured, it added, and two kindergartens were damaged.

“Today, Ukrainian children went to school and woke up not to alarm clocks, but to the sounds of alarms and explosions,” the ministry said. “We will never forgive the enemy for such meanness and cynicism.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is grateful for everyone who made the first day of the school year possible in the country.

The strikes come as both Ukraine and Russia are continuing their aggressive ground offensives. Ukraine has continued into Russia’s Kursk region, and Russia is pushing further into the Donetsk region of Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Ukraine’s mission in Kursk won’t prevent his forces from continuing in eastern Ukraine.

He predicted the Kursk offensive will fail and Ukraine will want to “move to peace talks,” the AP added.

Zelensky acknowledged that the Kursk offensive drew Russian troops away from southern Ukraine but said it hadn’t yet forced soldiers to be withdrawn from the east.