- By Jaroslav Lukiv
- BBC News
Explosions were heard in Kiev and buildings were set on fire after Russia targeted Ukraine’s capital for a third night running.
Ukraine’s air defense intercepted more than 20 drones, officials say, causing falling debris to catch fire. At least one person was reportedly killed.
Sergey Sobyanin said “all emergency services of the city” were at the scene.
He added, “No one has been seriously injured so far”.
The attacks on Moscow came after another night of drone strikes in the Ukrainian capital.
Citing preliminary information, Kyiv’s military administration said more than 20 kamikaze drones were destroyed in the latest attack.
It said one person was killed and three others injured in a fire at a multi-storey building in the southern Holozivsky district.
“The top two floors have been destroyed and there may be people under the rubble,” the administration said in a statement.
Two private buildings caught fire and several cars were damaged in Tarnitsky District – across the Dnipro River.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko described the latest attack as “massive”, urging residents “not to leave their shelters”.
The airstrike alert was lifted three hours later, meaning the Russian airstrike was over for the time being.
This is the 17th attack in the capital since early May, including Monday’s daylight attack.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised the US-made Patriot Air Defense Forces delivered to Ukraine.
In a video message late Monday, he said he was “100% certain to shoot down any Russian missiles”.
“Russia wants to follow the path of evil to the end, that is, to its defeat, because evil can have no other end than defeat. The world must see that terrorism is defeated,” Mr Zelensky added.
Russia’s military was able to hit some of the targets it had attacked in other parts of Ukraine — including an apparent air base.
On Monday, officials in the western Khmelnytskyi region said five planes were damaged at a military location. The runway there is now being repaired, officials added, without giving further details.
Russia’s military has said all targets were hit during recent attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
Claims by the warring parties have not been independently verified.
Russia – which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 – is using kamikaze drones and a variety of cruise and ballistic missiles.
Analysts say Moscow is seeking to undermine and undermine Ukraine’s air defenses ahead of a protracted counteroffensive.
Ukraine has been planning a counterattack for months. But it wanted as much time as possible to train troops and acquire military equipment from Western allies.