Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital on Saturday, the first airstrike targeting kyiv in 52 days.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a message posted on Telegram that “loud explosions were heard” in the early hours of Saturday morning, the BBC reported.
“After a long pause of 52 days, the enemy has resumed missile attacks on Kiev,” Serhiy Popko, head of the city’s military administration, said in a separate post on Telegram. “The missile failed to reach kyiv, air defenders shot it down as it approached the capital.”
The Ukrainian Air Force used a US-provided Patriot surface-to-air missile launcher to intercept the attack, according to Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk.
No victims were reported. Residents were ordered to take shelter in bomb shelters, including the city’s subway stations.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky praised the city’s residents for “inspiring the world with their resistance” as he marked the first anniversary of the liberation of Kherson from Russian forces.
Traces of a missile are seen in the sky over Kiev on Saturday after Russia launched its first airstrike on the Ukrainian capital in 52 days.REUTERS Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the bravery of Kiev residents after a Russian missile attack against the city on Saturday, the first in several weeks.SERGEY DOLZHENKO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Meanwhile, Russia also stepped up its airstrikes in the south and east of the country. Ukrainian authorities said they had shot down 19 drones out of 31 launched by Russia in overnight strikes on Friday, according to reports. It is unclear what happened to the other 12 drones, although authorities reported damage to buildings.
Oleh Kiper, Odessa regional governor, said the southern region was attacked with missiles and drones on Friday afternoon and overnight in attacks that injured three people and damaged local port facilities.
Russia also continued its attacks around the war-torn city of Avdiivka, a small industrial center in the north of eastern Donetsk province, one of four that Russia claims to have annexed.
The Kremlin has focused on trying to capture the city that it failed to take in 2014, when conflict broke out between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists.
kyiv residents take shelter in a metro station during a Russian airstrike on the city on Saturday.REUTERS
After four weeks of intense fighting in the region, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces lost 10,000 soldiers, more than 100 tanks and more than 250 armored vehicles.
Military analysts say Russian troops are now attempting to completely surround Avdiivka, according to the Moscow Times, an independent English- and Russian-language newspaper.
“The third wave will definitely happen. The enemy is regrouping after a second wave of failed attacks,” Vitaly Barabash, head of the Avdiivka military administration, said Tuesday.
The Russian offensive to take the eastern city has been so fierce that it has been compared to the “meat grinder” battle of Rzhev in the Soviet Union, in which hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed on both sides but none of the sides won in the end. The battle was a Soviet offensive against Wehrmacht soldiers in 1942.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn