The Ukrainian capital Kiev suffered its first airstrike since September last year in the early hours of Saturday, resulting in the shooting down of several projectiles and a general warning to the population to move to shelters for their protection.
The mayor, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed on his Telegram account “strong explosions” after Ukrainian air defense systems were activated. Although several warning calls have been made to authorities, they have no data on casualties.
Ukrainian forces also reported attacks on Kiev and other regions of the country, including Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkov, Poltava, Sumi and Kirovohrad.
The military attributed a series of missile and drone actions to Russia and estimated that more than 30 unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also reported the shooting down of several drones in Russian airspace, particularly in the Smolensk province, located on the border with Ukraine, and another in the Moscow region.
Smolensk Governor Vasily Anojin ruled out that the incident caused any casualties.
AFP journalists said they saw two columns of white smoke in the sky, likely 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 heating.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force claimed to have shot down about two-thirds of the 31 attack drones launched during the night.
“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 supplied by its Western allies in anticipation of a new wave of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Source: DN
