Russian drone injures mother and children as it hits Ukraine’s Dolynska high-rise

Feb 18, 2025 - 13:00

russian drone injures mother children hits ukraine's dolynska high-rise fire apartment building kirovohrad oblast after strike overnight 18 2025 residential ukraine news ukrainian reports

A Russian one-way attack drone struck an apartment building in Dolynska, Kropyvnytskyi district, Kirovohrad Oblast, injuring a mother and her two children overnight on 18 February. Drone debris caused damage in Kyiv, as Ukraine neutralized 170 of 176 drones.

Russia continues its deliberate daily air attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure. Since October 2022, it has systematically targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with extensive missile and drone assaults, aiming to disrupt civilian life, particularly during the winter months.

Andrii Raikovych, head of the Kirovohrad Oblast Military Administration, announced on his Facebook page that medical assistance was provided to the injured.

“The older girl did not require hospitalization. Residents from 38 apartments were evacuated from the high-rise. Relevant services are working at the site,” Raikovych said.

According to Raikovych, Russian drones also attacked other parts of Kropyvnytskyi district without casualties or injuries.

Vitalina Bevzenko, spokesperson for the Kirovohrad Oblast police, explained that police officers and rescuers helped evacuate residents from the damaged building.

“Information about the incident has been entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Law enforcement officers are documenting crimes committed by the aggressor country [Russia],” Bevzenko stated, according to Suspilne.

The air raid alert in the region lasted from 20:45 on 17 February until 03:21 on 18 February, Suspilne says.

Drone debris cause fire in Kyiv

In Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district, drone debris crashed and triggered a fire at an industrial enterprise, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko reported. e added that cars were also burning in the courtyard of a nearby residential building.

Suspilne Kyiv says the air raid alert in the capital began at 22:12 yesterday. Later, Suspilne correspondents reported that explosions were heard in the city, with the city’s military administration clarifying that air defense systems were active.

Massive drone attack across Ukraine

Late on 17 February, Russia started another massive air assault against Ukraine, using 176 Shahed long-range kamikaze drones, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. An air raid alert was declared in most oblasts.

The Air Force reported shooting down 103 enemy drones, while 67 decoy drones failed to reach their targets, disappearing from radars without negative consequences. The Air Force’s data imply that six drones might have reached their targets.

According to the report, the Russians launched drones from six locations – Russia’s Oryol, Bryansk, Kursk, Millerovo, Shatalovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk , and temporarily occupied Crimea.

The report says drones were shot down in Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Mykolaiv oblasts.

Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Cherkasy oblasts suffered damage from the attack, Air Force says.

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