Residents of Kiev had to seek shelter again on Thursday evening. Ukrainian forces shot down at least one Russian drone in Kiev and also had to shoot down one of their own drones after it likely malfunctioned, the Air Force said on social media. Earlier in the day, the United Nations in Ukraine said it was “appalled and saddened” by the recent spate of strikes that have killed and injured dozens of civilians across the country.
The bombing comes as Moscow vows retaliation for an alleged drone strike on the Kremlin this week targeting the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia has accused Ukraine and the United States of involvement, which both countries firmly denied. Putin will chair a meeting of the Russian Security Council on Friday, where the incident may be discussed, the state news agency TASS reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Here’s the latest on the war and its impact on the entire world.
Russian officials insist they have the right to retaliate, stoking fears in Ukraine that Russia could use the situation as a pretext to escalate its war. Jennifer Hassan and Mary Ilyushina discuss how drones work in the war in Ukraine and what we know so far about Russia’s claims, Kiev’s response and military experts’ interpretation of the incident.
Meaghan Tobin contributed to this report.