Russia targets Kyiv and Odessa in latest drone attack

Russia launched a drone strike across Ukraine overnight, targeting the capital Kiev and hitting infrastructure in the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.

According to the state emergency service, one person was injured and warehouses and trucks were damaged in Odessa during the multi-wave attack, which put large parts of the country on air raid alert for several hours.

The Ukrainian military shot down 56 of at least 87 drones launched by Russia over various regions of the country, the air force said. It added that another 25 were “lost” due to electronic interference, but did not elaborate.

Kiev city military administrator Serhiy Popko said air defenses had destroyed all drones fired at the capital. No injuries were reported.

Popko added that airstrike warnings were announced for Kiev and the surrounding region three times throughout the night, lasting more than five hours in total.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

Russia has denied deliberately targeting civilians in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022, but has regularly fired missiles, drones and bombs at population centers far behind the front line.