Russian Strike on Kyiv Kills 6, Injures 35

Russia has waged a devastating aerial campaign against Ukraine since its all-out invasion of its neighbor nearly four years ago. U.S.-led diplomatic efforts this year to stop the fighting have so far come to nothing.

The attack was the biggest on Kyiv in almost three weeks. Most recent Russian aerial attacks have aimed at electricity infrastructure around the country ahead of the bitter winter months.

‘My hair was on fire’

Kyiv residents told of harrowing escapes and near misses in the dead of night.

Mariia Kalchenko said it was a miracle she survived after her building was hit.

“I didn’t hear anything, I just realized that my hair was on fire,” the 46-year-old volunteer rescue dog handler told The Associated Press.

She turned on her flashlight and saw that her dog had moved away in fright. “I turned around and saw that there was no wall, and there was a neighbor’s apartment, the neighbor was screaming, there was no door, and the flames were going from the front door into the apartment,” she said.

Oleh Hudyma, 59, said he became aware of the attack and intended to go to a bomb shelter but she wasn’t quick enough.

“I got up, got dressed, went out, and there was an explosion. I couldn’t hear the (drone) engine running, just an explosion, flames, everything flew,” he said. “I was in the kitchen and just fell to the floor.”

Iryna Synyavska, 62, said three people were killed in two apartments next to hers.

“My neighbor and his father were killed by the ceiling that collapsed. In the next door (apartment), an elderly woman lived there, she was over 80,” Synyavska said. “Her daughter was visiting her. Her body was only just recovered because the walls fell down.”

Russia accuses Ukraine of hitting civilian sites

Ukraine has responded by launching its own domestically developed drones and missiles against targets on Russian soil, especially oil refineries and depots that provide Moscow with income and manufacturing plants that supply the armed forces.

Over 60 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over the southern Krasnodar region that borders Crimea, according to the Defense Ministry. A total of 45 drones were destroyed over the Saratov region deeper inside Russia, while another 19 were shot down over Crimea.

A source in Ukraine’s Security Service confirmed the Novorossiysk attack to The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Novorossiysk is the second biggest port in Russia for oil exports, the source said, adding that the attack damaged oil-loading stands at the piers, pipeline infrastructure and the units, sparking a large fire.

Ukraine also struck the positions of a S-300/S-400 air defense system in Novorossiysk, the source said.

Falling drone debris also damaged a civilian vessel in the port, and three crew members were hospitalized with injuries, Russian officials said. Several residential buildings were also damaged, and a man from one of those buildings was hospitalized with injuries, officials said.

In the Saratov region, Gov. Roman Busargin said that the attack damage unspecified “civilian infrastructure.” Unconfirmed media reports said that an oil refinery was hit.