Russia launches large air raid on Kyiv, 15th attack in May By Reuters

By Valentin Ogirienko and Gleb Garanich

(Reuters) – Russia launched a new wave of air strikes on Kiev in the early hours of Monday, using drones and cruise missiles, as the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said its defense forces shot down more than 40 targets.

Officials said that in what was Russia’s fifteenth air attack on the city in May, and the second in a row overnight of similar intensity, there were no major damage or casualties in Kiev.

“Another difficult night for the capital,” Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said via the telegram channel.

The attack comes on the heels of the largest drone barrage unleashed on Kiev last night, killing one person and wounding many more. In Sunday’s attack, 36 drones were shot down over Kiev.

The city’s military administration said that in its attack on Monday, Russia used a combination of Iranian-made Shahed aircraft and cruise missiles.

“With these constant attacks, the enemy seeks to keep the civilian population in a state of deep psychological tension,” Serhiy Popko, head of the city’s military administration, said via the Telegram messaging channel.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the attacks. Reuters could not independently verify reports of the scale of the attacks.

Reuters witnesses said they heard several explosions when the city and all of Ukraine were under air raid alerts early on Monday.

As the long-promised Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture the territories Russia occupied in the 15 months of the war looms, Moscow has stepped up its attacks, targeting military infrastructure and supplies.

While Ukraine has almost never claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia, a series of strikes inside the country have targeted military, energy and transport infrastructure, with Moscow blaming Kiev for the attacks.