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Russia strikes Kyiv twice in one day, killing at least 17, as Zelensky vows a ‘long-range’ response

Source: Vitali Klitschko

Russia struck Kyiv with drones again on the evening of August 20 — after a massive combined attack the night before.

At around 5:30 p.m. local time, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that falling drone debris started a fire in an office building in the capital’s Holosiivskyi district. He later specified that a second fire had broken out in a nonresidential area. The attack killed two people and injured at least two more.

The Kyiv City Administration warned that air quality in the Holosiivskyi district was temporarily worse due to the strike and advised residents to close their windows and limit their time outdoors.

In his evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine “will definitely respond to Russia for this strike, just as it has for other strikes.” He said the response would be “just and long-range.”

Overnight into August 20, Russia launched a combined strike on Kyiv that Zelensky described as among Russia’s most cynical, calculated, and large-scale attacks. At least 15 people were killed in that attack, and dozens of buildings were damaged, including homes, a school, and a kindergarten.

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