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Ukraine fights off another Russian air raid: officials

29.05.2023 11:30
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was hit by another Russian air strike overnight, but the city’s air defence repelled the attack and there were no casualties, officials said.
Photo:
Photo:PAP/EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

The air raid was conducted using cruise missiles and Iranian-made Shahed drones in the early hours of Monday, The Kyiv Independent website reported.

Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said that air defences had shot down more than 40 aerial targets over the city, according to Polish state news agency PAP.

Popko added on the Telegram social messaging app that some damage had been caused by falling debris but there were no casualties, in what was Russia’s 15th assault on Kyiv in May, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram: "Another challenging night for the capital. However, thanks to the professionalism of our defenders, there [was no damage] or destruction of infrastructure and other facilities, including residential buildings, as a result of the barbaric attack against Kyiv," as quoted by The Kyiv Independent

Klitschko also said that there were no injuries or casualties.

Popko said Russia was trying to exhaust Ukraine’s air defences with the increased attacks, adding that “the enemy is trying to keep the civilian population in deep psychological tension,” according to The Guardian

Shortly after 10 a.m., there were reports of more explosions in Kyiv.

Klitschko said on Telegram, as quoted by The Guardian: "Emergency services went to a call near the centre of the capital. The attack on Kyiv continues. Don’t leave the shelters."

Air raid warnings across Ukraine

An air raid warning was sounded in all of Ukraine’s regions in the early hours of Monday, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported

Air defence was at work in the southwestern Odesa province, in the central Vinnytsia and Poltava regions, and in the western provinces of Lviv and Khmelnytskyi, The Kyiv Independent reported.

In the Khmelnytskyi region, Russia attacked several targets, including a military one, with five aircraft disabled and fires breaking out in fuel and lubricant warehouses, according to Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspilne. 

Fires were being extinguished and the runway was "being restored," according to officials.

In the Odesa region, fragments of a downed kamikaze drone hit the port infrastructure, causing a fire, which was extinguished by the morning, Suspilne also reported.

In the Lviv region, a rocket was shot down, with falling debris causing an outbuilding and a tractor to burn down, but there were no injuries or dead, according to local officials.

In the central Kirovohrad region, debris from a downed UAV damaged the roof of a residential building and a railway track, but there were no casualties, Suspilne reported.

Meanwhile, three Shahed drones were shot down over the southern Mykolaiv region, while air defence forces in the Poltava region downed two missiles and a drone, according to Suspilne, as quoted by The Guardian.

Ukraine shoots down 37 missiles, 29 drones

In all, the Ukrainian Air Force destroyed 37 cruise missiles and 29 Shahed kamikaze drones during the night, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

The Russian air attack targeted military and critical infrastructure facilities across Ukraine, according to officials.

The Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram: "We have destroyed 67 air targets: 37 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles, 29 Shahed-136/131 strike drones and 1 operational-tactical reconnaissance UAV."

In total, Russia launched up to 40 Kh-101/Kh-555 air-to-surface cruise missiles from nine Tu-95ms strategic aircraft from the Caspian Sea, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

The Russians also used some 35 Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 attack drones, launching them from "the northern and southern fronts," officials said.

Monday is day 460 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

(pm/gs) 

Source: PAP, Ukrainska Pravda, The Guardian, The Kyiv Independent