At least one person has been killed and seven wounded after a Russian missile attack targeted Ukraine’s capital.
The attack on Friday morning also damaged buildings across Kyiv and sparked fires in some, according to the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Serhiy Popko.
Russia brought 8 missiles into kyiv, Popko said, adding that it used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and Iskander/KN-23 ballistic missiles to neutralize the attack.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defenses were up and running following a missile attack that Russia said was a “response” to Ukrainian moves this week with Western missiles targeting a chemical plant in southern Russia. Russia.
“In reaction to the moves of the kyiv regime, supported through its Western officials, a combined strike with long-range precision weapons has been introduced today,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian media, citing witnesses on the ground, reported that a series of loud explosions had been heard in Kyiv and that smoke could appear just above part of the city.
“Ballistic missile from the North!” »warned the Ukrainian Air Force in a Telegram message.
Local media outlet Kyiv Independent said several explosions occurred around 7:00 a. m. (05:00 GMT). Klitschko cited that “several cars were in a firing position in the Holosiivskyi district of the city due to debris that fell from a missile. “
Fires also broke out in the Solomianskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts of Kyiv, as well as a structure in the Dnipro district.
The city’s mayor said at least seven other people were injured, four of whom were taken to hospital.
Before the airstrike, the Ukrainian Air Force had warned that a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet firing hypersonic missiles had taken off from a Russian air base, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Later on Friday, Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down five ballistic missiles and 40 drones, and that 20 drones failed to hit their targets.
At a year-end news conference on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a “high-tech duel” with kyiv and warned that he would defend his claims that Russia’s new hypersonic ballistic missile is immune to defenses. aerial.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the provocation and called Putin’s entourage “thugs. “
Al Jazeera’s Defence Editor Alex Gatopoulos, reporting from the Ukrainian city of Odesa, said Russia’s attack was a direct consequence of the two presidents trading barbs.
“Putin said we can get through and we will get through, and they’ve shown today that they are able to,” Gatopoulos said.
Two overnight airstrike warnings were issued in Kyiv due to drone strikes. The city government said air defense intercepted all the drones and debris fell in the Desnianskyi district.
In southern Ukraine, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Ukrainian soldiers repelled Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups overnight as they attempted to advance towards the city of Kherson, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Prokudin said Russian forces targeted residential spaces and critical infrastructure. One user was killed and at least nine others were injured, according to the local government quoted through the media.
Russian troops carried out attacks from the southern region of Ukraine to a foothold on the islands of the Dnieper Delta.