Russia in the early hours of Monday launched a new wave of air attacks on Kyiv using drones and cruise missiles, with the military administration of the Ukrainian capital saying defence forces shot down more than 40 targets.
Witnesses reported hearing explosions in the centre of Kyiv following an air-raid warning.
Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko said there had been explosions in the city center and asked inhabitants to seek shelter.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky applauded the country’s air defence forces after the capital endured the largest drone attack since the beginning of the Russian invasion on Sunday as residents celebrated Kyiv Day.
A wave of drones hit the capital in the early hours during the annual celebration of the city’s founding 1,541 years ago. Falling debris killed a 41-year-old man, Mr Klitschko said, while several other people were injured.
Mr Zelensky said that most of the lives that could have been taken by the strikes were saved and thanked the people who had participated in defending the city.
Russian airstrikes also hit a military site in the Khmelnytskiy region of western Ukraine, according to the regional governor.
Fires started as a result of the damage in the western region are currently being fought by emergency personnel.
Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, said Russia had launched up to 40 cruise missiles and roughly 35 drones over Ukraine.
Ukraine’s air defences shot down 37 missiles and 29 of the Iranian-made Shahed drones, causing debris to fall in several districts of Kyiv and the region.
There have been no reports of dead or injured civilians.
Elsewhere, a rocket was reportedly shot down over Lviv oblast. Debris from the rocket set fire to an outbuilding and a tractor but caused no injuries.
Local media reports said the movement of supplies was disrupted in the small city of Snihurivka in the Mykolaiv region, due to overnight shelling.
The attack on the western city follows the shelling of a medical facility in Dnipro earlier this week, which killed two people and left 30 injured.
Russia and Ukraine have now been at war for 460 days
