Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Saturday, the first airstrike targeted at Kyiv in 52 days.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a message posted on Telegram that “a loud explosion was heard” early Saturday morning, the BBC reported.
“After a long pause of 52 days, the enemy has resumed missile attacks on Kyiv,” said Serhiy Popko, director of the city’s military administration, in a separate post on Telegram. “The missile failed to reach Kyiv, the air defense shot it down as it approached the capital.”
The Ukrainian Air Force used US-provided Patriot surface-to-air missile launchers to intercept the attack, according to Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk.
No casualties were reported. Residents were ordered to take shelter in air raid shelters, including the city’s metro station.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky praised the city’s residents for “inspiring the world with their resistance” as he marked the first anniversary of Kherson’s liberation from Russian forces.
Missile trails were visible in the sky over Kyiv Saturday after Russia launched its first airstrikes against the Ukrainian capital in 52 days.REUTERS Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the courage of Kyiv residents after a Russian missile attack on the city Saturday, the first in weeks .SERGEY DOLZHENKO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Meanwhile, Russia also increased its airstrikes in the southern and eastern parts of the country. Ukrainian authorities said they had shot down 19 drones out of 31 launched by Russia in an attack overnight Friday, according to reports. It is unclear what happened to the other 12 drones, although officials reported damage to buildings.
Oleh Kiper, the Odesa regional governor, said the southern region was attacked with missiles and drones on Friday evening and overnight in attacks that injured three people and damaged local port facilities.
Russia also continued its offensive around the war-torn town of Avdiivka, a small industrial hub in the north of eastern Donetsk region, one of four Russia claims it has annexed.
The Kremlin has focused on trying to capture the city it failed to take in 2014, when conflict erupted between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists.
Kyiv residents take shelter in a subway station during a Russian airstrike on the city Saturday.REUTERS
After four weeks of intense fighting in the region, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces had lost 10,000 soldiers, more than 100 tanks and more than 250 armored vehicles.
Military analysts say the Russian army is now trying to encircle Avdiivka completely, according to the Moscow Times, a free English- and Russian-language newspaper.
“The third wave will definitely happen. The enemy is regrouping after the second wave of unsuccessful attacks,” Vitaly Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration, said on Tuesday.
The Russian offensive to capture the eastern city was so fierce that it was compared to the battle of Rzhev “meat grinder” in the Soviet Union, where hundreds of thousands of soldiers died on both sides but neither side won in the end. The battle was a Soviet attack on Wehrmacht soldiers in 1942.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
