Kyiv Explosions as Ukraine Destroys Russian Cruise Missiles

Explosions were reported in Ukraine’s capital city as Kyiv’s military said its air defenses have destroyed dozens of Russian cruise missiles in overnight attacks.
Moscow’s forces launched “several waves of missile attacks from different directions” from 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday until 5.30 a.m. on Thursday, Ukraine’s Air Force said in a statement.
Russia frequently launches overnight cruise missile attacks at targets across Ukraine, with several barrages of missile and drone strikes reported by Ukraine over the past week. On Tuesday, Ukraine’s military said it had intercepted six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles as part of a “complex attack,” which Russia denied.
A total of 30 missiles were fired at targets in Ukraine from the sea, air and land, the military said on Thursday, adding it had intercepted 29 cruise missiles. A further two Iranian-made Shahed drones were also shot down, the Air Force said.
One person was killed in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, with two more injured, according to a local official.
Rescuers use special equipment in searching people trapped under the rubble of a high-rise residential building hit by a missile on January 15, 2023 in Dnipro, Ukraine. In Dnipro, one of the Kh-22 cruise missiles hit a nine-story residential building. Russia fired 22 Kh-101 and Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles and six Kalibr sea-launched missiles during the barrage on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Yurii Stefanyak/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
There were “several explosions in the capital,” including in southeastern areas of the city, Kyiv mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, wrote on Telegram on Thursday morning. A fire broke out at a building due to “falling debris,” he added, with another explosion reported in the northeastern area of Desnyan.
“A series of air attacks on Kyiv, unprecedented in their power, intensity and variety, continues,” Kyiv City Military Administration head, Serhiy Popko, said in a statement on Thursday. It is the ninth air attack on Kyiv since the start of the month, Popko said.
Kyiv regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said no direct hits were recorded in the area around the capital, and there had been no casualties.
“In several communities, debris was found falling into people’s yards,” he said, adding several houses and two cars had been damaged by debris.
Russia fired 22 Kh-101 and Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles and six Kalibr sea-launched missiles during the barrage, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. An additional two Iskander-K ground-launched cruise missiles were also fired, the military said.
“We remind you once again that even with the successful operation of anti-aircraft defense, fragments of rockets shot down in the sky necessarily return to the ground and pose a serious threat to people’s lives,” the Air Force said in a statement posted to social media.
Ninth Russian attack on Kyiv during May last night. Other Ukrainian cities attacked, as well.
These are fragments of Russian rockets that fell in Kyiv region.
According to preliminary information, all enemy targets in Kyiv’s airspace were identified and destroyed.
Who will be… pic.twitter.com/OZG4oERGn8 — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) May 18, 2023
Footage has emerged on social media of the debris in the Ukrainian capital. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, posted images on Thursday of what he said were “fragments of Russian rockets that fell in Kyiv region.”
Images were also published on Twitter by Belarusian outlet NEXTA, but Newsweek could not independently verify the photographs.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has been contacted for comment via email.