By Tom Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk
KYIV (Reuters) – Russia launched an air attack on Kyiv early on Sunday, with blasts ringing out across the Ukrainian capital and its region for almost two hours and drone debris falling on several of the city’s central districts, officials said.
The scale of the attack was not immediately known. Reuters witnesses heard at least five blasts across Kyiv, and Ukrainian media footage showed a number of cars damaged.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that one person was injured in the historic Podil neighbourhood and a fire broke out near one of the city’s parks.
Debris from downed drones fell on the Darnytskyi, Solomianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Podil districts, Klitschko and the city’s military administration said.
In the Shevchenkivskyi district, drone debris sparked a fire in an apartment, which was quickly distinguished. There were no immediate reports of injuries, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.
There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attacks. Moscow has been conducting near-nightly assaults on Ukraine’s territory. A Russian attack killed 17 on Wednesday in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv; Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Elaine Monaghan in Washington; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Daniel Wallis and William Mallard)
