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Ukraine fights off Russian missile, UAV attack on Kyiv: officials

02.01.2024 07:30
Ukraine has repelled a Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv, which sparked a fire at a residential building in one of the capital's neighbourhoods, as falling debris hit different parts of the city, authorities said.
Photo:
Photo:Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Russia fired the Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles and then missiles on Kyiv overnight into Tuesday, the RBC-Ukraine news agency reported.

Explosions rang out in the city as air defences worked to repel the Russian attack, according to officials. 

Falling UAV debris caused a fire at a residential building in the Desnianskyi district, Kyiv Mayor Vladimir Klitschko said.

Emergency services were also dispatched to the city's Holosiivskyi district; there were no immediate reports of casualties, the Reuters news agency reported.

In all, Russia launched several dozen attack drones on Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday, with air defences called into action in Kyiv and a number of provinces, the RBC-Ukraine news agency reported.

Ukraine's air defences took down all 35 Russian drones, the Air Force in Kyiv said.

Later on Tuesday morning, officials in Kyiv and Kharkiv called another air raid alert, after Russia had fired missiles against these cities, according to news outlets.

Blasts rocked the Ukrainian capital and missile debris fell on various districts of Kyiv, Klitschko told reporters.

Ukraine's air defence systems were engaged in fighting off the Russian missiles, officials said.

As of 7:30 a.m. no casualties were reported, according to The Kyiv Independent website.  

Tuesday's attack came after Moscow had fired a record number of 90 Shahed UAVs against Ukraine on New Year's Eve night, killing one person in Odesa, with Ukrainian air defences bringing down 87 of the drones, according to officials in Kyiv.   

Tuesday is day 678 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.

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Source: RBC-Ukraine, Reuters, The Kyiv Independent