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Russia Launches Third Ballistic Missile Attack On Kyiv This Month

Destruction in Kyiv
A woman walks with a dog past a residential building damaged during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine August 18, 2024. REUTERS

Russia on Sunday carried out its third ballistic missile attack on Kyiv this month.

Preliminary data indicated that most of the projectiles were shot down on approach, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said.

Third Ballistic Strike

“This is already the third ballistic strike on the capital in August,’’ Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration said.

Popko said on the Telegram messaging app that the Russia had most likely used North Korean-made ballistic missiles.

Reuters could not independently verify the type of missiles launched.

Ukraine Also Destroyed Russian Drones And Missiles

Separately, the commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, said it had destroyed eight Russian attack drones and five out of eight missiles.

Oleshchuk said anti-aircraft combat, anti-aircraft missile troops, mobile firing groups and electronic warfare units had downed 13 air targets in Kyiv.

Apart from Kyiv, 13 air targets were also downed in Sumy and Poltava regions.

He said Russia launched eight missiles on Sunday morning, including three ballistic, three cruise and two guided aircraft missiles.

Ukraine shot down five of them.

Three Missiles Missed Their Targets

Apart from this, he said that the three missiles it missed had failed to reach their targets.

Kyiv officials said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in the capital.

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However, Kyiv region governor Ruslan Kravchenko said the attack destroyed two private houses.

The debris damaged 16 houses.

Zelenskiy Describes The Attacks As Deliberate Russian Terror

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, ” This is deliberate and targeted Russian terror.”

He said Russians had launched more than 40 missiles, 750 guided aerial bombs and 200 attack drones this week against Ukrainian villages and cities.

Reuters could not independently verify the scale of damage in the Kyiv region.

A Reuters witness heard blasts that sounded like air defence systems early on Sunday.

About two hours after the initial attack, Kyiv, its surrounding region and most of central and northeast Ukraine were under fresh raid alerts.

More Missiles Heading Towards The City

Ukraine’s Air Force said that there were threats of more missiles heading towards the city.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago.

It now holds about 18 percent of Ukrainian territory in the east and south.

(With Inputs From Reuters)