Russia bombarded Kiev with drones and cruise and ballistic missiles overnight on Monday (September 2, 2024), officials said, as children in Ukraine prepared to return to school. Classes were cancelled for some pupils because of the damage caused by the attack.
Several explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital in the early morning. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry reported that debris from intercepted missiles and drones fell in every district of Kiev, injuring three people and damaging two kindergartens. City authorities reported several fires.
After more than 900 days of war, there is no sign of a slowdown in fighting between Russia and Ukraine or of coming to the negotiating table. Both sides are launching ambitious ground offensives, with Ukraine pushing into Russia’s Kursk region and Russian forces pushing further into the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, which is part of the industrial Donbass region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday (September 2, 2024) that Ukraine’s Kursk offensive would not stop the Russian army from advancing in eastern Ukraine. He said the Ukrainian army had not achieved its goal of drawing Russian troops out of the fighting there.
“The main task that the enemy set for itself – stopping our offensive in the Donbass – it has not achieved,” Mr Putin told school students during a visit to southern Siberia.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last month that the incursion into Kursk was aimed at creating a buffer zone to prevent further attacks by Moscow from across the border.
Mr Putin predicted that Ukraine’s Kursk offensive, scheduled to begin on August 6, 2024, would fail and that Kiev authorities would “want to move to peace talks.”
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia fired 35 missiles of various types and 26 Shahid drones at Ukraine overnight from Sunday (September 1, 2024) to Monday (September 2, 2024). It said nine ballistic missiles, 13 cruise missiles and 20 drones were shot down.
Residents of the capital fled to the city’s bomb shelters.
Oxana Argunova, an 18-year-old Kiev high school student, said she was still shaking after the night’s fright.
“I woke up, my neighbour was shouting: ‘Let’s go down (to the shelter), there are big explosions.’ We all ran,” Ms Argunova said. The Associated Press,
Monday (September 2, 2024) was the first day back to school after the summer holidays. In Ukraine, this day is marked by celebrations and rituals. Students of all ages and often teachers or parents wear traditional costumes. Celebrations include concerts and dances.
Small groups of children and parents gathered outside a damaged school in Kiev while firefighters extinguished fires and cleared away debris.
A 39-year-old mother arrived at school with her 7-year-old daughter Sofia, unaware that the school had been attacked. Sofia’s mother said it was her first day at a new school, after a terrifying night.
“Of course, the child was scared. We hid in the bathroom, where he was relatively safe,” said the mother, who gave only her first name, Olena.
“Today is the most important day of the year for millions of our Ukrainian children, families and teachers,” Mr Zelensky said on his Telegram channel.
“Ukraine is doing everything possible to give children as many opportunities as possible. And all our schools, all our higher education institutions that are working today are evidence of the perseverance of our people and the strength of Ukraine,” he said.
The two sides regularly attack each other with long-range drone and missile strikes, sometimes firing more than 100 weapons in air strikes, suggesting they are still investing resources in weapons production.
The Defence Ministry said Russian air defence systems intercepted 158 Ukrainian drones overnight, including two over Moscow and nine in the vicinity.
Jonas Nødeker, head of the Danish humanitarian organization DanChurchAid, said the organization’s Ukrainian headquarters were destroyed by missile fragments.
Eighteen people were injured in an attack on a children’s social and psychological rehabilitation center and an orphanage in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday (September 1, 2024) evening, regional authorities reported.
The regional prosecutor’s office said there were no children inside the complex at the time of the attack, but people living in nearby residential buildings were injured, including six children.
State emergency services said the educational center was partially destroyed and caught fire, and surrounding buildings were also damaged by the shock wave.
According to Ukrainian media, an explosion also occurred in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. The head of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Sinyhubov, confirmed the early morning attack in Kharkiv’s Industrialny district and said it set a residential building and several other buildings on fire.
The UK Defence Ministry said on Sunday (September 1, 2024) that Russian forces have accelerated their advance on Donetsk’s key stronghold Povkrovsk over the past week and are possibly within 10 km (6 miles) of the city.
It said there had been no significant changes elsewhere along the 1,000 km (over 600 miles) front line.