KYIV, Ukraine — Explosions rang across the capital Monday as it suffered its 16th air attack this month and second in 12 hours. The Ukrainian air force described the raid as a ballistic missile attack and said air defenses had “destroyed everything.”
At least one person was injured, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The Kyiv city administration said more than 41,000 people took refuge in subway stations during the day.
Kostiantyn Vashchenko, Ukrainian state secretary for defense, linked the attack to a long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive that he said could begin within days. “Russia clearly understands our readiness for an offensive,” he said during a security forum in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Ukrainians fighting outside Bakhmut see Russian mercenaries withdrawing: Ukrainian soldiers say they are seeing signs that Russian mercenaries are pulling out of the recently captured city of Bakhmut. That could signal a shift in command, with Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s Wagner Group — which spearheaded a costly battle to occupy the city — handing over the responsibility of holding it to Russia’s regular military command, Adam Taylor, Anastacia Galouchka and Heidi Levine report.
“The Wagner guys have left and the [regular Russians] have come in,” said a 26-year-old commander, who spoke on the condition that he be identified only by his call sign, Chichen.
Hassan reported from London, Pannett from Wellington, New Zealand, and Iati from Washington. Loveday Morris contributed to this report.
