KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched an airstrike into Ukraine on Tuesday, hitting the capital and other areas with multiple missiles and drones.
Ukraine's air force reported the ballistic missile threat at 3am (1pm Japan time), and at least two explosions were heard in Kiev minutes later. Another missile alert was issued at 8 a.m., followed by at least one explosion in the city. According to the local administration, missile fragments fell in the Dalnitsky district of the capital, but there were no reports of casualties or damage.
Authorities in the northeastern region of Sumy reported a strike near the city of Shostka, with Mayor Mykola Noha saying 12 residential buildings and two educational facilities were damaged. He said some “social infrastructure facilities” had been destroyed, but gave no details.
The Air Force also reported missiles and drones targeting several other regions of Ukraine.
In Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian forces had successfully attacked a Ukrainian air force base and a gunpowder factory.
About half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure was destroyed during the war, and rolling blackouts are common and widespread.
Kiev's Western allies have provided air defense systems to help Ukraine protect critical infrastructure, but Russia is seeking to overwhelm the air defenses with a combined attack using large numbers of missiles and drones.
The Russian attack comes amid uncertainty over the course of the nearly three-year-old conflict. US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has vowed to end the war, raising questions about whether vital US military aid to Kiev will continue.
President Joe Biden on Monday announced that the United States will send 25 additional weapons to Ukraine as the Trump administration moves quickly to use all available funds to help Kyiv fight Russia before taking office. He announced that he would send billions of dollars.
Ukraine has fought back against Russia with a sustained barrage of missile and drone attacks throughout the year.
Russia's Ministry of Defense announced early Tuesday that its air defense forces shot down 68 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions and sank eight unmanned boats in the Black Sea.
Vasily Anokhin, head of Russia's western Smolensk region, said debris from the drone fell on the premises of an oil depot, causing a fire.
Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Moscow-appointed head of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, said Russian defense forces shot down four drones attacking the city and sank two unmanned boats near the coast. .
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Military Intelligence Directorate, known by its acronym GUR, claimed on Tuesday that one of the country's naval drones shot down a Russian helicopter with a missile, marking the first time an air target had been destroyed by an unmanned vessel. .
It was announced that a Magura V5 naval drone shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter with an R-73 missile near Cape Tarkankut, the westernmost tip of Crimea. Another Russian helicopter was damaged but managed to reach the airfield, GUR said.
Russia has taken the lead this year, with Russian forces steadily breaking through eastern Ukraine's defenses in a series of slow but steady attacks.
Yet in August, Ukraine launched a raid on Russia's Kursk region, catching Moscow by surprise and dealing a serious blow to the Kremlin's prestige. Although Russian forces succeeded in retaking some territory in the region from Ukrainian forces, they were unable to completely eliminate Ukrainian forces.
