In the early hours of Monday morning, Ukrainian air defense units successfully intercepted and destroyed 15 of 18 missiles launched by Russian forces, according to the Ukrainian military. Air raid sirens sounded across the country for over three hours as the attack unfolded.
Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, posted on his Telegram channel that the attack began around 2:30 am (1130 GMT) and was carried out by Russian strategic aviation planes. He confirmed that 15 of the 18 missiles had been destroyed.
Kyiv city officials also reported on Telegram that all missiles aimed at the capital were intercepted and neutralized. The city administration stated, "According to (preliminary information), no casualties among the civilian population and no destruction of residential facilities or infrastructure have been recorded."
In addition to protecting the city of Kyiv, air defense systems were also deployed to defend the surrounding Kyiv region, a separate administrative entity, from Russian missile strikes. Ukrainian media outlets reported explosions in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions as well.
Russia has escalated its missile attacks on Ukraine in recent days. However, Reuters could not independently verify the reports of the latest explosions.
