After two nights of heavy drone strikes, the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv has fallen under attack again.
According to a military spokesman, missiles were used in the most recent barrage. No reports of casualties exist.
This month, Russia has launched 16 air attacks on Kyiv, typically overnight.
The most recent attack, however, occurred around noon, and the target appears to have been the city center. The mayor, Vitali Klitschko, implored citizens to seek shelter and warned them of falling debris.
Yuri Ihnat, a spokesman for the air force, stated that Iskander ballistic missiles were employed in the most recent attack and that it was conceivable that S-300 and S-400 missiles were also employed.
According to reports, air raid sirens were also heard in several other Ukrainian regions.
According to Ukrainian officials, the majority of the drones used in this weekend’s assaults have been destroyed.
Additionally, explosions were reported in the regions of Lviv, Odesa, Vinnytsya, and Khmelnytskyi.
According to regional authorities, an assault on a military airfield in Khmelnytskyi damaged five aircraft and the runway.
Meanwhile, in the Russian region of Belgorod, the governor reported that Ukrainian forces were simultaneously shelling multiple frontier settlements.
Kyiv citizens have had a difficult few days, according to Ambassador-at-large Oleksandr Scherba.
“Nearly every night, the sky looks and sounds like an episode of Star Wars, but we don’t feel many Russian rockets striking their targets here in the city. This is all due to the decent nations and people of the globe who provided us with this air defense,” he said.
Drone attacks and restless nights were “part of our routine” in the capital, Mr. Scherba said.
On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Kyiv’s air defence forces after the conflict’s largest drone attack.
Mr. Zelensky exclaimed, “You are heroes,” after military commanders reported that the majority of the so-called kamikaze drones launched by Russia were destroyed.
In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its assaults on Kyiv in an attempt to overwhelm the capital’s defenses.
Saturday’s overnight attack occurred as the citizens of the capital prepared to commemorate Kyiv Day, the city’s founding anniversary. People in the capital went to parks, pubs, and restaurants to celebrate the holiday, displaying a remarkable degree of resilience.
Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, using kamikaze drones and cruise and ballistic missiles.
According to analysts, Moscow is attempting to degrade and harm Ukraine’s air defenses before its long-anticipated counteroffensive.
Saturday, one of the highest-ranking security officials in Ukraine told that the country was prepared to initiate such an operation.
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the powerful National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, stated that an assault to retake territory from President Vladimir Putin’s occupying forces could commence “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or within a week”.
Ukraine has spent months preparing a counteroffensive. However, it desired as much time as possible to train soldiers and receive military supplies from its Western allies.
In the interim, Russian forces have prepared their defenses in the occupied regions of southeast Ukraine.
