Eighteen “Shahed” drones were also launched by Moscow during the night from the annexed Crimean peninsula before being destroyed by the Ukrainian defense, “most of them in the Mykolaiv region” (south), indicated Kiev Air Force.
“According to initial information, around 04:00” (02:00 GMT), Russia “began a missile attack against the kyiv region.
In total, the air defense destroyed eight air targets that were flying towards the capital along a ballistic trajectory,” the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Telegram.
Missile fragments fell on the Darnytskyi district, in the southeast of the capital, reported the head of the Kiev military administration Sergii Popko.
Four residents were treated by emergency services, including one for a shrapnel wound, he added on the same social network.
According to Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who spoke on Telegram, “a missile fragment damaged a building under construction”, causing a fire which was then quickly extinguished, while another piece of projectile crashed on a lawn.
“No impact against critical infrastructure (…) was noted” according to initial information, Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the military administration of the kyiv region, described on Facebook.
Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of preparing a campaign of systematic strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure in the middle of winter, as it did last year.
During the winter of 2022, millions of people were without power during a cold wave for long periods due to these strikes.
kyiv has since reinforced its air defense systems with Western weapons but says more is needed to protect vulnerable regions.
On November 11, Ukraine said it had shot down a missile that targeted its capital and put an end to nearly two months of relative calm for kyiv. No victims had been recorded.