Russia’s jet-powered drones bring empty Kyiv supermarket shelves and rattle Ukrainians

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces relentlessly battered Kyiv and cities in the region around the Ukrainian capital for a fifth straight day on Monday, leaving some supermarket shelves bare after repeated strikes on warehouses, as Ukraine reels from attacks with jet-powered drones.

Russia has intensified its aerial attacks in recent months, more than four years after it invaded its neighbor. Almost constant air raid alerts in the Kyiv region in recent days have severely disrupted daily routines. Two major attacks in July killed almost 50 civilians, and a strike on Saturday killed at least 38 people.

Classes were due to resume at Ukrainian schools on Tuesday, but it was unclear whether parents would send their children. Schools have air raid shelters, and classes can also be held online. But about 1 million textbooks have been destroyed in Russian attacks on publishing houses, potentially delaying deliveries for the start of the school year, Ukraine’s Education Ministry said earlier this month.

“Right now, Russia’s tactic is to wear down Ukraine and Ukrainians — first and foremost, our people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media late Sunday.

Ukraine has also tried to make Russian civilians feel the burden of war by hammering major online retailers and oil facilities. The attacks have brought shortages for ordinary Russians, but the assaults haven’t been as deadly for Russian civilians as the attacks on Ukrainians are.

U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the war are on ice after making little progress last year on key issues and with Washington’s attention now gripped by the Iran war.

Zelenskyy is keen to restart the mediation, however, and he said that he had “a good call” Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, describing their phone conversation as “detailed and constructive.”

“Importantly, the dialogue between negotiating teams of the U.S. and Ukraine continues all the time, and now we are talking about locking in the dates for the visit to Ukraine” by Witkoff and Kushner, Zelenskyy said on social media.

Ukraine builds technology to counter jet-powered drones

A pall of black smoke drifted over Kyiv on Monday morning. In Brovary and Boryspil, cities in the Kyiv region, the aerial attacks struck several warehouses and four people were wounded, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the regional military administration.

Zelenskyy conceded on social media that Ukraine is struggling to counter fast-flying jet-propelled drones that Russia is increasingly deploying.

Between Thursday and Sunday, Russia fired almost 1,500 drones at Ukraine, and around 800 of them were jet-powered, Zelenskyy said.

Combat aircraft are trying to stop the jet-powered versions while Ukraine looks to develop more effective technology.

“Four companies have developed the relevant interceptor drones, and one company has the most successful technology,” Zelenskyy said. He didn’t elaborate.

A Kyiv official says Ukrainians won’t go hungry

Repeated Russian strikes on food distribution centers and retail hubs have disrupted Ukrainian logistics, leaving some supermarket shelves bare and fueling public concern about shortages.

Those fears prompted Zelenskyy adviser Serhii Beskrestnov to say on social media Monday that Ukraine won’t go hungry. He urged the public not to give in to rumors, disinformation or panic, saying producers and retailers are restructuring supply chains.

Beskrestnov said that European countries would be ready to fill any food supply shortfall, if necessary.

At the same time, Russia has kept up its attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, seeking to leave civilians cold and without running water in the approaching winter.

Russian forces launched what officials said was a massive overnight drone attack on Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, which borders Russia, where an energy facility was damaged, according to Viacheslav Chaus, head of the regional military administration. He didn’t provide details of the damage.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday that it’s preparing “massive strikes” on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Overnight, Russia shot down 239 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions, the occupied Crimean Peninsula and the waters of the Black Sea, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said Monday.

A Ukrainian missile attack on Sunday evening on the Russian border city of Belgorod killed three people, acting regional Gov. Alexander Shuvayev said.

Also, a Ukrainian drone attack wounded four people in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, regional Gov. Denis Pasler said Monday. Yekaterinburg is Russia’s fourth-biggest city, located more than 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) from Ukraine’s border, and is an industrial hub.

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Barry Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. Elise Morton contributed to this report from London.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine