At least 2 wounded as shell fragments hit residential building in Kyiv

ANKARA

As the Russia-Ukraine war has entered its 21st day, at least two people were wounded due to shell fragments falling into a 12-floor residential building in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, according to the country's Interior Ministry on Wednesday.

Early morning, Ukraine's rescue service received a report of a collapse in a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv, the ministry said on Facebook, adding that there was a collapse on the 12th and technical floors of the building, while the neighboring nine-floor building was also partially damaged.

Some 35 personnel and eight units of equipment of the State Emergency Service, including psychologists, were involved at the scene, the statement read.

Anton Herashchenko, an adviser and former deputy minister at the Interior Ministry, said on Telegram that two explosions were heard in the Shevchenkivskyi district.

"Search and rescue operation and dismantling of structures continue," Herashchenko added.

At the same time, information was received that there was an explosion in a house on Bohdan Havrylyshyn Street, he added.

On Monday, Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, said the war in Ukraine would probably end by early May when Russia runs out of resources to attack the former Soviet country.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow, and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 691 civilians have been killed and 1,143 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

More than 3 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries, according to the UN.