Russia’s flurry of attacks on Kyiv and elsewhere comes as Ukraine says it shot down an Mi-8 helicopter for the first time with a naval drone.
Russia launched a heavy aerial attack on Ukraine hitting the capital, Kyiv, and other regions with a volley of missiles and drones.
Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday it downed six out of 21 Russia-launched missiles overnight. Russia used 40 drones to attack the country, the air force said on Telegram. Air defence units shot down 16 and 24 more failed to reach targets.
Ukraine’s air force reported a ballistic missile threat at 3am (01:00 GMT) with at least two explosions heard in Kyiv minutes later amid a number of attacks throughout the country.
Another missile alert in Kyiv was issued at 8am (06:00 GMT), followed by at least one explosion in the city. Missile debris fell in the Darnytskyi district of the capital, with no reports of casualties or damage.
Meanwhile, authorities in the northeastern Sumy region reported attacks near the city of Shostka, where Mayor Mykola Noha said 12 residential buildings were damaged as well as two educational facilities.
Noha said some “social infrastructure objects” were destroyed, without providing more details. Ukraine’s air force also reported missiles and drones targeted several other regions.
The strikes come as the nearly three-year conflict rages on, but its course is uncertain with United States President-elect Donald Trump to soon take office. Trump has promised to end the war and threw into doubt whether vital US military support for Kyiv would continue.
Kyiv strikes back
Ukrainian military intelligence also said on Tuesday one of its naval drones – the Magura V5 maritime drone – destroyed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter and damaged another one in the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s GUR spy agency said it was the first time a Ukrainian naval drone had downed an air target.
While there was no comment from Russia, Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russia-appointed governor of Sevastopol in Crimea, said on Telegram two sea drones were destroyed near the coast overnight and Russian defences downed four unmanned aerial vehicles attacking the city.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said air systems shot down 68 Ukrainian drones overall in several regions of the country.
On Monday, President Joe Biden announced the US will send an additional $2.5bn in weapons to Ukraine as his administration works quickly to spend all the money it has available to help Kyiv fight off Russia before Trump takes office.
The war broke out in February 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. About half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed since, with Kyiv’s Western allies providing air defence systems to help it protect critical infrastructure.
But Russia has sought to overwhelm its air defences with combined strikes involving large numbers of missiles and drones in a series of slow but steady offensives.
Russian forces advanced by 3,985sq km (1,539sq miles) in Ukraine in 2024, seven times more than in 2023, according to an analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The advance up to December 30 was boosted by an uptick in Russian troop movements in the autumn, advancing 610sq km (235 sq miles) in October and 725sq km (280 sq miles) in November.
November and October were also the two months when they conquered the most territory since March 2022, the early weeks of the conflict.
