Russian forces targeted Kyiv with a barrage of self-exploding Iranian-made Shahed drones early on Thursday morning, according to the Kyiv City Administration.
Explosions were heard in different parts of the city, and debris from intercepted drones fell on four districts of the Ukrainian capital, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Buildings were damaged and two people were admitted to hospital with shrapnel wounds.
Earlier, the municipal authority wrote on Telegram that debris fell on five districts.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia fired a total of 20 drones, mostly at the Kyiv region, and that all 20 were shot down.
The Ukrainian military also intercepted two cruise missiles.
The statement also reported that one ballistic missile was not intercepted, although it did not explain what damage the missile caused.
The government of the region of Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine reported that a cruise missile was intercepted over the region, and reported no casualties.
“We appreciate the meticulous work of Ukraine’s air defence forces,” the regional administration wrote on Telegram.
Rescuers extinguished a fire in a 16-storey building, as well as in a non-residential building, according to the Interior Ministry.
Debris also “damaged the facade” of a 25-storey apartment building, the ministry wrote.
Volodymyr Motus, a 22-year-old resident of the 25-storey building, carefully picked his way across the floor of a destroyed apartment, his footsteps accompanied by the sound of shattered glass.
The mangled furniture was coated in a thick layer of dust.
“I was in my apartment and suddenly I heard a boom, that’s all. Then the alarm went off and I went down to the shelter.”
He said that some people were injured, but they were all alive.
In the partially occupied Donetsk region, Russian forces targeted 13 cities and villages under Ukrainian control with aviation, missiles and heavy artillery.
In the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region, the number of wounded by drone debris on Wednesday rose to 21, and fires broke out in the city of Kherson after Russian shelling.
Russian strikes have come to feel almost routine in Ukraine over the almost 17 months of the war.
In May, Russia launched dozens of drones and missiles at Kyiv almost every night, forcing its residents to spend their nights in shelters.
During the summer, attacks came less frequently, but they still strike unpredictably across the country.
Ukraine’s human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets wrote on Telegram on Thursday: “It should be explained that each ‘air alarm’ in Ukraine is like playing Russian roulette… It’s unknown the number of people who could be affected, and it is uncertain from which part of Ukraine bad news about the strike of an enemy drone or missile will come.”
Recently, a Russian cruise missile struck an apartment building in the western city of Lviv, resulting in a death toll that reached 10, and leaving dozens injured.
And in the southern and eastern regions of the country, where heavy fighting is taking place on front lines, the intensity of missile attacks has remained high since the beginning of the war.
Meanwhile, a senior officer leading Russian forces against Kyiv’s recent counteroffensive in southern Ukraine, Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, was reportedly killed by a Ukrainian missile strike.
Lt Gen Tsokov died when the Ukrainian military struck the city of Berdyansk on Tuesday with UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, according to retired general Andrei Gurulev, who commanded the 58th Army in the past and currently serves as a legislator.
Russia’s Defence Ministry has not reported Lt Gen Tsokov’s death.
Speaking to reporters in televised remarks from Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine would not change the course of the conflict.
He said that Western missiles “do inflict some damage but nothing critical is happening” for the Russian forces.
Mr Putin added that Western tanks and other armoured vehicles delivered to Ukraine likewise have not had any significant impact and have become “priority targets” for the Russian army.
He mockingly alleged that foreign tanks “burn even better” than the Soviet-designed tanks in the Ukrainian army’s inventory.
The Russian president said that while Ukraine has the right to seek security guarantees, doing so must not threaten Russia’s security.
He said security guarantees for Ukraine were discussed as part of negotiations on a tentative peace deal in Istanbul in March 2022 weeks after the start of the Russian invasion, but the talks failed.
Mr Putin warned that Moscow would not extend the UN-brokered deal that has allowed the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports when it comes up for renewal on Monday unless the West meets Russian demands.
He suggested Moscow could suspend its participation in the agreement and resume it only when the West agrees to facilitate shipments of Russian food and fertiliser.
