Russia attacked Ukraine with dozens of "kamikaze" drones in the early hours of Monday as people slept, hitting critical infrastructure in and around Kyiv in Moscow's third air attack on the Ukrainian capital in less than a week,
Reuters reports.
The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defences shot down 30 of 35 incoming drones, the latest in a series of Russian missile and drone attacks since October that have targeted the Ukrainian power grid causing sweeping blackouts in winter.
"Kamikaze" or "suicide" drones are cheaply produced, disposable unmanned aircraft that fly towards their target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact.
Kyiv's mayor said no one had died or been wounded in the attacks on Kyiv that rocked the capital's Solomianskyi nd Shevchenkivskyi districts, according to preliminary information.
Under the darkness of night, a fire raged at one site at an energy facility in the often targeted central Shevchenkivskyi district, a Reuters witness said.
"I heard an explosion. And in three or four minutes I heard another explosion," said an old man who works at a guard at a nearby hospital.
The Solomianskyi district in the western part of Kyiv is a busy transport hub, home to a train station and one of the city's two passenger airports.
The power grid operator described the situation as "difficult" and said the Dnipropetrovsk region and areas in the centre and east of the country were the worst affected.
