KYIV, May 1 (Aljazeera) - Ukraine says its air defences have destroyed 15 of 18 missiles launched by Russian forces as Moscow has intensified attacks on its neighbour in recent days.
“Around 2.30am [on Monday, 23:30 GMT on Sunday] the Russian invaders attacked Ukraine from strategic aviation planes,” Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on his Telegram channel.
No civilian casualties or destruction of residential buildings or infrastructure were immediately recorded, officials in Kyiv said.
All missiles directed at Ukraine’s capital were destroyed in what they said was the second attack on Kyiv in three days.
Air defence systems were also called into action to shield the Kyiv region, which is a separate administrative entity from the capital city, officials said.
In the southern region of Kherson, at least one person was killed in a Russian attack.
“Over the past day, the enemy carried out 39 shellings, firing 163 shells from heavy artillery, Grads [multiple-rocket launchers], UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones] and aviation,” said Oleksandr Prokudin of the military administration for Kherson. “The enemy shelled the city of Kherson eight times. As a result of Russian aggression, one person died and three others, including a child, were injured.”
Russia still controls part of the Kherson region but withdrew from the regional capital of the same name in November.
Russian missiles also targeted the central city of Dnipro. Air defence crews shot down seven missiles, but 25 people sought medical help, an official of the regional council said.
The eastern city of Pavlohrad was struck twice overnight, and an industrial enterprise, 19 apartment buildings and 25 private buildings were damaged or destroyed, he said.
Ukraine’s air defence systems have been bolstered in recent months by deliveries of Western equipment, including the American Patriot missile systems received in April.
The latest Russian attacks were carried out as Kyiv prepares for a long-awaited counteroffensive, having promised to expel Russian forces from territory they seized in the east and south after their 2022 invasion.
