The Ukrainian capital, Kiev, suffered this morning its first air attack since last September, which resulted in the firing of several projectiles and a general warning to the population to go to shelters for protection.
The mayor, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed, on his Telegram account, “strong explosions” after the activation of Ukrainian air defense systems. Although several alert calls were made to the authorities, they have no record of victims.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces also reported attacks on kyiv and other regions of the country, including Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumi and Kirovohrad.
The Army attributed a battery of actions with missiles and drones to Russia, estimating that more than 30 unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also reported the downing of several drones in Russian airspace, specifically in the province of Smolensk, located on the border with Ukraine, and another in the Moscow region.
The governor of Smolensk, Vasily Anokhin, ruled out that the incident caused any casualties.
France-Presse journalists said they saw two columns of white smoke in the sky, probably left by two Ukrainian air defense missiles, shortly before two explosions were heard.
Last winter, systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy system regularly left thousands of homes without heat.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down about two-thirds of the 31 attack drones launched overnight.
“Nineteen Shahed 136/131 attack drones were destroyed. The Russian occupiers sent most of the attack drones to frontline areas,” the Air Force said, adding that Russia also used several missiles.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had deployed new air defense systems provided by its Western allies in anticipation of a new wave of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Source: TSF
