Russia launched a missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and the nearby region on Saturday for the first time in weeks, and bombed the east and south of the country with drones, Ukrainian authorities reported.
Serhiy Popko, head of the military administration of the city of Kiev, said that a Russian ballistic missile was launched towards the capital at around 08:00 local time (0600 GMT).
“After a long pause of 52 days, the enemy has resumed missile attacks on kyiv,” Popko said on the Telegram messaging app. “The missile did not reach kyiv, the air defenses shot it down as it approached the capital”
Popko said there were no casualties or major damage in the capital.
Ruslan Kravchenko, regional governor of the central kyiv region, said five private homes and several commercial buildings in the area were damaged. He claimed that two Russian missiles hit a field between settlements.
Ukrainian air defenses also shot down 19 Iranian-made “Shahed” drones out of 31 launched by Russian forces in the night attack on the southern and eastern regions of the country, the air force said in a statement.
Oleh Kiper, Odessa regional governor, said the southern region was attacked with missiles and drones on Friday afternoon and overnight. The attacks injured three people and damaged port infrastructure facilities, he said without offering further details.
Russia has stepped up its bombing of Ukrainian ports, including Odessa, and grain infrastructure since July, when Moscow withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a war deal that allowed Ukrainian exports to reach many countries threatened by hunger. (Reporting by Olena Harmash; Edited in Spanish by Manuel Farías)
Source: Ambito
