Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv bombarded in huge strike as Poland ‘has duty’ to shoot down Putin’s missiles

Some kindergartens will shut for a week in the Russian city of Belgorod near Ukraine's border while several schools will hold online classes after a Kyiv attack destroyed a child care facility on Monday, the region's governor said.

"It's a bad morning for the Belgorod region," the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said in a post on social network VKontakte the day classes were set to resume after the summer vacation.

"A kindergarten in the city of Belgorod has been almost completely destroyed."

After the attack, authorities decided that several schools in the city's large district of Kharkovskaya Gora would hold classes online, while kindergartens would be shut for a week, Gladkov said.

Russia's air defence units destroyed one Ukraine-launched drone overnight, the defence ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. Ukrainian forces have long subjected the city of Belgorod and nearby districts to shelling and other attacks. Kyiv says its attacks target infrastructure key to Moscow's war efforts.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the 30-month-old war unleashed by Moscow's invasion of its smaller neighbour.

On Sunday, Gladkov said Ukraine's shelling killed one person and injured more than a dozen in the region, the administrative centre of which is the city of Belgorod.

Loud explosions rocked Ukraine's capital Kyiv early on Monday as Russia launched a barrage of missiles, sparking fires and damaging homes and infrastructure, officials said.

The air force said it had destroyed 22 out of 35 missiles and 20 out of 23 attack drones. Those included nine ballistic missiles and 13 cruise missiles in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia regions. Air raid alerts sounded across Ukraine for nearly two hours before the air force declared the skies clear at 6:30 a.m. (0330 GMT). Neighbouring NATO member Poland activated Polish and allied aircraft to keep its airspace safe during the attacks. The broad bombardment, a week after Russia unleashed its largest air attack on Ukraine since full-scale war began early in 2022, coincided with the first day back at school for many children.

"It was supposed to be school today," said Alina, standing in the courtyard of a school. "We were asleep and woke up to a bang," said her friend Amina. A boiler house at a Kyiv water plant was partially damaged, as was the entrance to a metro station doubling as a bomb shelter in Svyatoshynksyi district, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, although the station was still operating.

The district is home to a cluster of universities and schools. The attack injured at least two people, Klitschko said. Cars were set ablaze across the city as well as at a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, he added. Emergency services rushed to several locations, including the Svyatoshynksyi, Solomyanskyi and Holosiivskyi districts, where debris had fallen from destroyed missiles. Solomyanskyi is home to a major train station and Kyiv's main airport. The historic neighbourhood of Svyatoshynksyi is on the city's western edge, while Holosiivskyi is in the southwest. An Islamic centre was badly damaged in the attack, Crimean Tatar leader Refat Chubarov said on Telegram.

Reuters witnesses in Kyiv heard a series of loud explosions in what sounded like the work of air defence units, some in the central area.

Last Monday, Russia fired more than 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine, killing seven people and striking energy facilities nationwide in what Kyiv called the war's "most massive" attack.

Russia denies targeting civilians in the 30-month-old war.

Russian forces are fighting in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Selydove and Ukrainsk, pro-Russian bloggers said on Monday, as Moscow's forces try to smash through part of Ukraine's defensive line.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the purported Russian advance.

Russian forces, which control 18% of Ukraine, have been advancing in eastern Ukraine since the failure of Kyiv's 2023 counter-offensive to achieve a major breakthrough.

Despite a major Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk region began on Aug.6, the numerically stronger Russian army has in recent weeks been pushing relatively swiftly though settlements on the approach to the strategically important city of Pokrovsk.

Yuri Podolyaka, an influential Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, said that intense battles were underway in Selydove about 20 km (12 miles) south of Pokrovsk and in Ukrainsk, about 14 km (10 miles) south of Selydove.

He said both sides were pushing forces into the battles for the cities which had populations of over 20,000 and 10,000 respectively before the war began in February 2022.

The Rybar pro-Russian blogger also said that fighting was going on in both cities. Russian state news agency TASS said that Ukrainian forces had been pushed out of a part of Selydove.

By pushing south towards the city of Kurakhivka, Russian forces are seeking to break through Ukrainian defensive lines while increasing their sway over the Pokrovsk-Donetsk road and encircling a chunk of territory, Russian bloggers said.

The Russian advances in Donetsk come as Moscow's forces try to expel Ukrainian soldiers from Russia's Kursk region after an Aug. 6 incursion aimed partly at forcing Russia's generals to scramble forces from other parts of the front.

As the Ukrainian armoured vehicle rumbled across the border into Russia’s Kursk region, one of the crew turned around and grinned broadly. Another officer said: “I’ve crossed the border quite a few times since our operation in Russia started and it feels great each time. Perhaps we should have done this a long time ago.”

The Independent accompanied the Ukrainian military over some of the hundreds of square miles of territory Kyiv has claimed during its surprise cross-border assault, which is now three weeks old. Every piece of land taken is another embarrassment for Vladimir Putin.

Our armoured personnel carrier (APC) crossed along the main road from the city of Sumy, capital of the eponymous Ukrainian region adjoining Kursk. It swayed and jolted as we careered along roads cratered by Russian artillery, rockets and glide bombs trying to hit the hundreds of Ukrainian military vehicles, moving in both directions.

Askold Krushelnycky reports from Kursk:

Ukraine's "provocation" in Russia's Kursk region has failed to stop the Russian military from advancing in Ukraine's Donetsk region, the RIA news agency cited Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying on Monday.

Putin, on a trip to Russia's Tuva region, said Russian forces were reclaiming territory in the Kursk region "by square kilometres" and the Ukrainian incursion force there would "be dealt with".

The Polish foreign minister has said his country and others bordering Ukraine have a “duty” to shoot down incoming Russian missiles before entering their airspace to protect their citizens.

Radosław Sikorski told the Financial Times this obligation stands despite Nato opposition that is centred around fears interceptions over Ukrainian territory could draw the Atlantic alliance into Russia’s war.

Ukrainian forces destroyed 22 out of 35 missiles and 20 out of 23 attack drones launched by Russia on Monday morning, Ukraine's Air Force said.

It said on the Telegram messenger that it had destroyed nine ballistic missiles and 13 cruise missiles in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Russia launched a barrage of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles at Kyiv, Ukraine’s air force said early today.

Several series of explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital in the early hours this morning, sending residents into bomb shelters.

Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klitschko said emergency services were called to the Holosiivskyi and Solomianskyi districts of Kyiv. One person was reportedly injured by falling debris in Shevchenkivskyi district, Mr Klitschko said.

Some kindergartens will shut for a week in the Russian city of Belgorod near Ukraine’s border while several schools will hold online classes after a Kyiv attack destroyed a childcare facility today, the region’s governor said.

“It’s a bad morning for the Belgorod region,” the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said in a post on social network VKontakte the day classes were set to resume after the summer vacation. “A kindergarten in the city of Belgorod has been almost completely destroyed.”

After the attack, authorities decided that several schools in the city’s large district of Kharkovskaya Gora would hold classes online, while kindergartens would be shut for a week, Gladkov said.

Russia’s air defence units destroyed one Ukraine-launched drone overnight, the defence ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukrainian forces have long subjected the city of Belgorod and nearby districts to shelling and other attacks. Kyiv says its attacks target infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts.

The early morning missile attack on Kyiv has injured at least two people, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Cars were set ablaze across the city as well as a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, he added.

Russia pounded Ukraine’s capital with missiles early today, while falling debris from the downed weapons sparked fires and damaged homes and infrastructure, officials said.

Emergency services also went to the districts of Svyatoshynksyi, Holosiivskyi, and Solomyanskyi, where debris fell from destroyed missiles, Mr Klitschko added.