A Ukrainian woman is seen with her son after the Russian attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Civilians were “running” and “screaming” amid deadly drone strikes launched by Russia across Kyiv early Monday, according to a witness at the scene.
Vitalii, a man in his 20s, told CNN he was at a train station when the deadly attacks hit the Ukrainian capital. He declined to give CNN his last name because of security concerns.
Vitalii said he saw “Shahed” drones flying overhead, the name given to the Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones that Kyiv and US intelligence say Moscow is using in its military assault on Ukraine.
“We were at the railway station (during the attack), we just arrived. We just got off the train and we saw this Shahed flying over us. We saw a flash and an explosion,” he said.
“We went to the basement, and when we came out, we saw a second explosion there, where there is smoke now. We had been in the basement for about two hours, and then there was another explosion. When it was quiet. , we took a taxi and we left.
“People started coming out of the basement. Then when there was another explosion, everyone went back into the basement. People were running, screaming. There was panic. People were scared because they didn’t understand what was happening.”
He added: “We saw the explanation on the Internet about how it works (‘Shahed’), sounds. We heard it, we saw it. It flew right over us, a triangular. And it exploded.”
Anna works at a local cafe near where the attack took place. She declined to give CNN her last name because of security concerns.
“I found out about the attack on the news. At first I decided not to go to work, so I arrived only around 10:30 (local time),” he told CNN.
“It was scary, but not as much as at the beginning of the war. That is, in a way we are used to it.
“This morning I had a feeling that something was going to happen, because last Monday I was here, I saw what happened. Thank God, I was not here at the time when everything happened.
“Last week we did not work on this situation because we were afraid of new attacks. Today I really start to think, if it is safe”, he added.
“I’m afraid, but it’s hard to believe that (a drone or rocket) could fly here.”
A woman is rescued as Ukraine’s capital is rocked by explosions during a drone strike early Monday morning in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)