Russian drone strikes Kyiv school, pupils escape unhurt

By Dan Peleschuk

KYIV, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Russian drones smashed ‌into a school in ​Kyiv and ​a key bridge over the Dnipro River on Thursday, triggering fires in the capital, officials said.

The school was struck early in the morning, but all pupils were in a shelter at the time and no injuries were ‌reported, city authorities said.

As Russian forces engaged in practically round-the clock attacks on the city, Mayor Vitali ⁠Klitschko said two drones hit the Southern Bridge around noon. A new strike late in the evening damaged a support, part of the road surface and protective ‌structures around the metro crossing the bridge.

Pictures ‌posted on unofficial Telegram channels showed part of the roadway ablaze.

At the school, a video posted on Telegram showed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy examining the charred building and conferring with staff.

Earlier, rescue workers picked through debris near the building where windows were shattered. ​CCTV footage verified by Reuters showed a bright fireball erupting after the drone slammed into the building's third floor.

"They (Russians) spare no one," said school director Valentyna Chorna, who added that more than 100 students had been present during the attack.

"Children are our ⁠future, the future of our nation. In order to destroy a nation, of course, they need to destroy children."

Russia has denied targeting civilians although it has repeatedly struck cities ​and towns across Ukraine since its full-scale invasion in 2022.

ESCALATING STRIKES

The attack on the bridge, in particular, represents an escalation because such structures had recently been considered a "red line", political analyst Vadym Denysenko wrote ​on Facebook.

Kyiv Mayor Klitschko said emergency crews were tackling the damage.

"Metro specialists ‌are shutting down the power on the metro tracks," he wrote on Telegram. "Metro and surface public transport over the bridge have been stopped."

Russia has been deploying jet-powered drones, which fly higher and faster than conventional ⁠drones and are more difficult to intercept for Kyiv's air defences, which are already suffering depleted munitions.

On Wednesday, Russian forces unleashed what Ukrainian officials described as the start of a cold-weather strike campaign against Ukraine's power grid.

The Institute of Nuclear Research in Kyiv said in a statement that it had ⁠been struck by a drone late on Wednesday, but that radiation levels remained normal.

On Monday, a Russian drone smashed into the National Academy of Sciences ​in downtown Kyiv, killing one and wounding several others.

ATTACK ON ODESA

Russia has intensified airstrikes as its overall frontline advances have slowed this year.

One person was wounded on Thursday in a Russian attack on a business centre in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, regional officials said.

City administration chief Serhiy ‌Lysak said infrastructure had been damaged but gave no further details.

Odesa and the surrounding region have been a frequent target of attacks aimed partly at choking Kyiv's export revenues.

Russia, which says it strikes only ‌military targets, reported that it had attacked a data centre in Odesa and a cargo vessel in the nearby port of Chornomorsk.

Ukraine has also ⁠stepped up attacks on Russia, striking oil refineries and ‌major online retailers to try to undermine ​Moscow's war effort.

One man was killed when a Ukrainian drone exploded in the town of Graivoron in Russia's Belgorod region, local authorities said on Thursday.

(Additional reporting by Serhiy Chalyi and Olena Harmash; Editing by Timothy Heritage ‌and Ron Popeski)

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