Ukraine war: Russia launched its ninth missile attack on Kiev this month

The Ukrainian capital, Kiev, was attacked by Russia for the ninth time this month.

Speaking before the release, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a fire in one of the counties was caused by falling debris.

Explosions were also heard in central Ukraine, in the Vinnytsia, Khmelnitsky, and Zhitomir regions.

The military administration in Kiev said that preliminary information indicated that all incoming missiles had been destroyed.

Klitschko, writing on Telegram, said the fire broke out in a garage in Kyiv’s Darnytsia district, but added that no one was hurt.

The head of the civilian military administration in Kiev said that a massive missile attack was launched from Russian strategic bombers over the Caspian Sea.

The attack most likely included cruise missiles, Serhiy Popko said, adding that Russia deployed reconnaissance drones over Kiev after it launched a wave of air strikes.

Western officials say the Ukrainian military is in an “increasing state of readiness” ahead of the long-awaited counter-offensive against the Russian invasion.

The officials said many of Kyiv’s military capabilities are now “combining” — including its ability to deploy tanks, combat vehicles and combat engineers, as well as clear mines, bridge rivers and strike long-range targets.

They said Russian forces were in a precarious state but warned that Moscow’s defensive lines in Ukraine were “potentially formidable” and guarded by “extensive minefields”.

The officials therefore argued that the success of any Ukrainian offensive should be measured not only by territorial gains but also by whether it persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin to rethink his strategy.

They claimed that the “knowledge effect on the Kremlin” was more important than the Ukrainian forces pushing through Russian lines all the way to the border.