Russia fires first missile attack on Kyiv in 52 days

Russia launched a ballistic missile attack against Ukraine’s capital Saturday, the first air attack aimed at Kyiv in 52 days.

Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said in message posted on Telegram that “strong explosions were heard” in the early hours of Saturday morning, the BBC reported.

“After a long pause of 52 days, the enemy has resumed missile attacks on Kyiv,” said Serhiy Popko, director of the city’s military administration, in a separate post on Telegram. “The missile failed to reach Kyiv, air defenders shot it down as it was approaching the capital.”

The Ukrainian Air Force used a US-provided Patriot surface-to-air missile launcher to intercept the attack, according to Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk.

There were no reported casualties. Residents were ordered to take refuge in air raid shelters, including the city’s metro stations.

Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelensky praised the city’s residents for “inspiring the world with their resistance” as he marked the first anniversary of the liberation of Kherson from Russian forces.

Meanwhile, Russia also ramped up its air attacks in the southern and eastern parts of the country. Ukrainian authorities said they had shot down 19 drones out of 31 launched by Russia in overnight attacks Friday, according to reports. It’s unclear what happened to the other 12 drones, although officials reported damage to buildings.

Oleh Kiper, Odesa’s regional governor, said the southern region was attacked with missiles and drones on Friday evening and overnight in strikes that wounded three people and damaged local port facilities.

Russia also continued its attacks around the war-ravaged city of Avdiivka, a small industrial hub in the north of the eastern province of Donetsk, one of four Russia claims it has annexed.

The Kremlin has been focused on trying to capture the city that it failed to take over in 2014, when conflict broke out between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists.

After four weeks of intense fighting in the region, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces lost 10,000 soldiers, more than 100 tanks and over 250 armored vehicles.

Military analysts say that Russian troops are now attempting to encircle Avdiivka completely, according to the Moscow Times, an independent English- and Russian-language newspaper.

“The third wave will definitely happen. The enemy is regrouping after a second wave of unsuccessful attacks,” said Vitaly Barabash, head of the Avdiivka military administration, said Tuesday.

The Russian offensive to take the eastern city has been so fierce that it has been likened to the “meat grinder” battle of Rzhev in the Soviet Union, in which hundreds of thousands of soldiers died on both sides but neither side won in the end. The battle was a Soviet offensive against Wehrmacht soldiers in 1942.