After almost two months of relative calm, Kiev was again attacked by a Russian missile, according to Ukrainian sources. “After a long break of 52 days, the enemy has resumed missile attacks on Kiev,” said the head of Kiev’s military administration, Serhiy Popko. Accordingly, a rocket attack was launched on the Ukrainian capital on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, regions on the front line had to fend off a wave of drone attacks, according to Ukrainian sources.
Journalists from the AFP news agency heard two heavy explosions in the center of Kiev on Saturday morning. They also saw white lines of smoke in the sky, and shortly afterwards air raid sirens sounded.
In the morning, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that explosions had been heard near the capital. The anti-aircraft defense was active, he said in his Telegram channel. He called on people to seek shelter in bunkers. According to initial findings, there were no injuries. The media had reported that the air alarm only went off after the sounds of explosions.
When asked why the alarm was raised after the explosion, an Air Force spokesman said on television that “ballistic missiles fly extremely fast and are not as visible on radar as cruise missiles.” According to initial findings, two Iskander-type rockets hit a field.
The Ukrainian air defense last fired a missile over Kiev on September 21st. Seven people were injured by the falling debris. Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, Kiev has been repeatedly fired at by Russian missiles.
There were initially no reports of victims or damage from Kiev itself on Saturday. However, in the capital region, two rockets hit a field between two settlements, the head of the local military administration said. Five residential buildings were damaged.
According to Ukrainian sources, other Ukrainian regions repelled drone attacks on Saturday night. The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 19 of 31 drones launched by Russia. Most of the drones targeted areas on the front line. Russia also used several missiles. However, the Air Force did not say whether any of the missiles were shot down.
Ukraine fears increasing Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure this winter. Last winter, Russia launched numerous attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. For millions of people, this meant outages of water, electricity and heating in freezing winter temperatures.
