Russia fired 30 cruise missiles against different parts of Ukraine early Thursday in the latest nighttime test of Ukrainian air defenses, which shot down 29 of them, officials said. One person died and two were wounded by a Russian missile that got through and struck an industrial building in the southern region of Odesa, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the region's military administration. Loud explosions were heard in Kyiv as the Kremlin’s forces targeted the capital for the ninth time this month in a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using newly supplied advanced Western weapons, the AP reports.
Debris fell on two Kyiv districts, starting a fire at a garage complex. There was no immediate word about any victims, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv Military Administration, said in a Telegram post. Ukraine also shot down two Russian exploding drones and two reconnaissance drones, according to authorities. The missiles were launched from Russian sea, air, and ground bases, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian commander in chief, wrote on Telegram. Russian forces used strategic bombers from the Caspian region and apparently fired X-101 and X-55-type missiles developed during Soviet times, Kyiv authorities said
In the last major air attack on Kyiv, on Tuesday, Ukrainian air defenses bolstered by sophisticated Western-supplied systems shot down all the incoming missiles, officials said. That attack used hypersonic missiles, which repeatedly have been touted by Russian President Vladimir Putin as providing a key strategic advantage. The missiles, which are among the most advanced weapons in Russia's arsenal, are difficult to detect and intercept because of their hypersonic speed and maneuverability.
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