Russian missiles target Kyiv on first day of school | News

Russia fired a salvo of missiles at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, hours before thousands of children returned to school for the first day of the new year.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a water treatment plant and the entrance to a subway station used as a shelter were hit. Two schools and a university were also damaged.

According to the Ukrainian military, 22 cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were destroyed by the Air Force.

According to local authorities, three people were injured by debris from destroyed rockets.
For schoolchildren across the capital, Monday's bombing coincided with the first day of school, a holiday in Ukraine.

Teachers and parents tried to maintain a sense of normality. Music played and smiling students were greeted by a sea of ​​flowers.

A mother who hid at home with her daughter during the rocket attack before taking her to school said they were showing once again “that this nation is invincible.”

“The children are smiling, but you can see the tension in the faces of their teachers [who] “I carry this burden,” she told the BBC.

“I am so grateful for everything they have done to make this a real holiday for the children.”

For 33-year-old Yevheniia, who was taking her six-year-old daughter to school for the first time, the day was marred by fear.

“Her hands were shaking,” Yevheniia told Reuters.

“Our apartment started to smell of smoke, but we still have to go to school, right? We are Ukrainians,” she told her daughter that morning.

Alina, a student at the damaged university, told Ukrainian television that she “started screaming” when the air raid siren sounded and everyone ran to the bomb shelter in her dorm.

During the attack, air raid sirens blared for nearly two hours before the military declared the skies clear.

“We were very scared,” Alina said, adding that they saw a fire after the explosions.

After the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the first day of school for the children, their families and teachers as “one of the most important days of the year”.

“All our schools, all higher education institutions that are functioning today are proof of the resilience of our people and the strength of Ukraine,” he said on his Telegram channel.

The entire Ukraine was placed on alert for several hours and neighboring NATO state Poland said it had deployed both its own and allied aircraft to secure its airspace during the Russian attacks.
According to data from the Institute for War Research analyzed by AFP, Russian forces advanced to 477 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory last month – Moscow's largest monthly increase since October 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his forces had not advanced at such a pace in Donbass “for a long time” and were capturing several square kilometers of territory every day.

Meanwhile, progress has slowed in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine made a surprise invasion on August 6. Kyiv last claimed it controlled 1,294 square kilometers (500 square miles) of territory, including 100 settlements.

In addition, almost 600 Russian soldiers were taken prisoner, it was said.

But President Putin, speaking to children starting their new school year, said this would not stop his troops from advancing into eastern Ukraine, claiming they were advancing at the fastest pace in “a long time”.

“Their goal was to stop our offensive actions in key regions of Donbass. The result is known: they failed to stop our advance,” he said.

Some critics in Ukraine have claimed that the invasion of Kursk diverted experienced troops from the front line in Donbass at a critical moment.

However, President Zelensky defended the offensive on Monday, saying it was going “according to plan.” He said the attack could relieve pressure on the eastern front.