Russia fires missiles on Kyiv in rare daytime attack

KYIV, Ukraine: Russia fired a barrage of missiles at Kyiv on Monday sending panicked residents running for shelter in an unusual daytime attack on the Ukrainian capital following overnight strikes. A series of explosions rang out in Kyiv on Monday as Russia targeted the city for the second time in 24 hours. The latest barrages hit the pro-Western country as the Ukrainian capital was still recovering from an overnight Saturday drone attack, the biggest since Russia´s invasion began in February last year.

AFP journalists heard at least 10 explosions from around 11:10 am local time (0810 GMT) in Kyiv, starting just a few minutes after an air raid warning sounded. Authorities later said Ukrainian air defences had downed all the Russian missiles launched against the Kyiv region. One injured man was hospitalised, they said. “A total of 11 missiles were fired: ´Iskander-M´ and ´Iskander-K´ from a northerly direction,” Ukraine´s armed forces chief Valery Zaluzhny said. “All the targets were destroyed by air defences.”