While the Ukrainian capital was the target of drones overnight, kyiv claims to have shot down 11 Russian missiles, creating scenes of panic among the population.
By PM with AFP
© ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP
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UA dozen explosions were heard Monday morning in the center of kyiv, shortly after the triggering of aerial sirens in the capital, noted journalists from Agence France-Presse. “Explosions in the city, in central districts,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram. “The air defense is in action,” for its part indicated the military administration of kyiv.
Eleven Russian Iskander missiles launched by Russia on Monday were shot down by the Ukrainian army, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valeri Zaluzhny, said in a statement later. “A total of 11 Iskander-M and Iskander-K type missiles were launched from the north” at kyiv and its region, he said on Telegram. “The anti-aircraft defense destroyed all the targets,” added Valeri Zalouzhny. The Ukrainian capital has already been the target of aerial attacks overnight from Sunday to Monday.
“Russia is terrorizing the civilian population”
This heavy missile fire on kyiv caused panic among residents who were trying to take shelter from this rare attack launched in broad daylight. A video relayed on social networks shows dozens of schoolchildren running screaming in terror, in a historic district of kyiv, to the sound of explosions caused by the interception of missiles.
Prime Minister Denys Chmygal denounced this “sixteenth” attack on kyiv since the beginning of the month. “Russia is purposely terrorizing the civilian population,” he blasted.
READ ALSOWar in Ukraine: understanding the conflict since the start of the Russian invasionOn the side of the Kremlin, the authorities affirmed this Monday at the beginning of the afternoon to have struck in the night “airfields” in Ukraine and “destroyed” all their targets. “All designated targets have been destroyed,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, without specifying the locations of these 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 assured.