Russia claimed on Monday it struck ‘airfields’ in Ukraine overnight and ‘destroyed’ all its targets, hours after Kiev reported that a military site in the west of the country had been hit by an attack from Moscow. . “All designated targets have been destroyed,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, without specifying the locations of the strikes. “Command posts, radar posts, as well as aeronautical equipment, facilities used for the storage of weapons and ammunition of the Ukrainian armed forces were affected,” he said.
Information to remember:
- Russia claimed to have struck “airfields” in Ukraine and “destroyed” all of these targets.
- Explosions reportedly took place in kyiv on Monday morning.
- On the night of Saturday to Sunday, the Ukrainian capital had already been targeted by the “largest” drone attack since the start of the war.
- Ukraine says it shot down 37 missiles and 29 Russian drones overnight from Sunday to Monday.
Panic among kyiv residents
The missile strike caused panic among residents who were trying to take shelter from this rare attack launched in broad daylight and after another night of strikes on Ukraine. Another rare fact, the Ukrainian authorities have publicly admitted that a military site in the west of the country had been hit by the strikes of the night. “The enemy carried out missile strikes against Ukrainian territory, for the second time in 24 hours”, underlined the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valery Zaluzhny, assuring that all the projectiles of this attack of the morning had been slaughtered. “A total of 11 Iskander-M and Iskander-K type missiles were launched from the north” at kyiv and its region, he said.
Prime Minister Denys Chmygal denounced this “sixteenth” attack on kyiv since the beginning of the month. “Russia is purposely terrorizing the civilian population,” he said. Faced with the force and intensity of the explosions during the interception of the Russian missiles, many residents rushed to take refuge in underground shelters, especially in the metro. A video shared on social networks showed dozens of schoolchildren running screaming in terror down a street in a historic district of kyiv at the sound of explosions.
“We are at the Khrechtchatyk metro station because there is an air raid,” Maksym, a 27-year-old resident, told AFP. “I saw 6, 7 or 8 – a number of explosions in the sky. That’s why I came here with my colleagues.” According to the mayor, a man was injured and hospitalized following this attack. “At first they started intercepting missiles as usual. Then one of them fell on the road. ‘AFP Dmytro, a witness. “It was quite noisy, there were several explosions. The interception of the missile was around 6-5 explosions,” he added.
Several explosions heard in kyiv, aerial sirens triggered
After nighttime bombardments, aerial sirens sounded again in the Ukrainian capital in the morning, followed by a series of explosions around 11:10 a.m. local time (0810 GMT), AFP journalists heard.
“Explosions in the city, in central districts,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram. “The air defense is in action,” added the kyiv military administration. Russia has stepped up its aerial attacks on the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of the month, but so far almost all of them have taken place at night.
According to the mayor, a man was injured and hospitalized at this point. Debris from downed missiles fell on at least three neighborhoods located in the north and east of the capital, notably causing a fire, according to the military administration. “All (Russian) air targets have been successfully hit by anti-aircraft defense,” said this source, criticizing the fact that “the Russians are clearly demonstrating that they aim to destroy the civilian population”.
Ukraine says it shot down 40 missiles and 35 Russian drones overnight
Ukraine has intercepted 40 cruise missiles and 35 Russian combat drones during a new night attack on Moscow, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Valery Zaluzhny said on Monday.
“Last night, the occupiers attacked military sites and those of critical infrastructure in Ukraine” by launching “up to 40 cruise missiles” from planes over the Caspian and “about 35 drones” from the North and South, he said on Telegram.
A military site in western Ukraine hit by a Russian strike
A military site in western Ukraine was hit by a Russian strike overnight, the Khmelnytsky regional administration said in a rare public statement on Monday.
“Russian troops hit several sites including a military one in the Khmelnytsky region,” the administration said on Telegram. She reported “fires in fuel depots” and “five aircraft taken out of service”, suggesting that an airstrip at a military airfield was damaged.
Ukraine claims to have countered “the most important drone attack” on kyiv overnight from Saturday to Sunday
Overnight from Saturday to Sunday, two people were killed and three others injured in what Ukrainian authorities called “the most significant drone attack” on Kiev since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. According to Ukrainian General Staff, 58 of the 59 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched on the capital that night were shot down.