Russia fired its second significant salvo of missiles at Ukraine in recent days on Monday morning, damaging buildings and injuring at least 34 people in the eastern city of Pavlohrad but missing Kyiv, according to officials.
At approximately 3:45 a.m., air raid sirens began wailing throughout the capital, followed by the sounds of explosions as missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian defense systems.
In total, 18 cruise missiles were launched from the Murmansk and Caspian regions, and 15 of them were intercepted, according to the Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv’s municipal administration, stated that all missiles and drones fired at the city were intercepted. He did not provide additional information, but said it would be available later.
The attack follows the launch of over 20 cruise missiles and two incendiary drones at Ukraine on Friday, which was the first time in nearly two months that Kyiv was targeted.
Ukrainian officials claim Russia launched its second big missile volley at Ukraine recently.
In this attack, 21 people, including three children, were killed when Russian missiles struck an apartment building in Uman, a city about 215 kilometers (135 miles) south of Kyiv.
According to Serhii Lysak, the region’s senior official, missiles fired on Monday wounded 34 people, including five children, in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region’s Pavlohrad.
Seven missiles were fired at the city, and “some were intercepted” while others struck an industrial facility, igniting a fire, and a residential neighborhood, where 19 apartment buildings, 25 homes, six schools, and five stores were damaged, he said.
According to him, missiles also struck three other regions in the region, causing damage to residential structures and a school.
Throughout the 14-month war, Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks, frequently targeting civilian areas without discrimination.
Ukraine has recently received Patriot missiles manufactured in the United States, which provide enhanced anti-missile defenses. However, it is unclear whether any of these missiles were used to thwart the attack on Monday morning.
As Kyiv prepares for an anticipated spring counteroffensive, its Western allies have also supplied armor for the Ukraine’s mechanized brigades, in addition to instructing Ukrainian troops and sending ammunition.
Saturday, two Ukrainian drones attacked a Russian oil depot in Crimea, the most recent attack on the occupied peninsula as Ukraine readies its counteroffensive.
In an interview last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the impending counteroffensive would aim to reclaim the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.