(Reuters) – Ukrainian anti-aircraft units successfully defended against attacks by drones for the third consecutive night in and around Kyiv on Thursday. The engagements resulted in fires and falling debris in several districts, causing the loss of at least one life, according to officials.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko, communicating via Telegram, confirmed that the body of a resident was discovered when emergency services extinguished a fire in Kyiv’s historic Podil district.
As explosions continued to echo throughout the capital and other regional centers, Ukrainian military officials reported progress in their counter offensive on front lines in the east and south, more than 500 days into Russia’s invasion. Notable gains were made near the war-ravaged city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian forces in May after months of intense battles.
Within Kyiv, Klitschko also reported a fire in an apartment building in Podil and stated that two individuals were injured by debris damaging one storey of an apartment building in the Darnytskyi district in the city’s east. Two more individuals were injured in the Shevchenkivskyi district further west, where a balcony caught fire in an apartment building. Debris also struck the central Solomyanskyi district.
Kyiv’s military administration, headed by Serhiy Popko, described the attack as a “mass attack” carried out by Iranian-made Shahed drones that had approached from different directions. Popko shared on Telegram, “Anti-aircraft forces identified and destroyed approximately 10 foreign targets.”
Pictures displayed on the military administration’s website depicted buildings with burnt-out sections or damaged facades.
These three days of assaults occurred concurrently with a NATO summit in Lithuania, which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised for providing Ukraine with “a foundation of security” for the first time since its independence. Zelenskiy had previously expressed some frustration over the absence of a timetable for Ukraine’s NATO membership.
Just twenty-four hours prior, Ukraine successfully shot down 11 out of 15 Iranian-made drones launched by Russia, resulting in two people sustaining injuries due to the attack on Kyiv. Additionally, an elderly man was killed due to shelling in the southern city of Kherson.
On the front line, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar reported on Telegram, “In the Bakhmut sector, we launched an attack on the southern flank around Bakhmut today. We have made progress, as our defenders have entrenched themselves in their established positions.”
Maliar stated that Ukrainian forces had repelled attempted Russian advances on towns to the north and west, while also continuing offensive operations towards the Sea of Azov in the south. She added, “In the past week, our defenders in the south have significantly weakened the enemy’s attacking and defensive capabilities.”
Verification of these battlefield developments was not possible by Reuters.
In its report on the front line, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed that its forces had successfully repelled 30 Ukrainian attacks in the past 24 hours across Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Klishchiivka, a village located on heights outside Bakhmut, was cited as one of the locations of their successful operations.
Ukraine announced this week that its forces had gained control of elevated positions, enabling direct strikes on the city of Bakhmut.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksander Kozhukhar; Editing by Sandra Maler and Michael Perry)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
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