Loud explosions heard as Russia targets Kiev with cruise missiles

Loud explosions were heard in Kiev early Thursday morning, and the city's Military Administration said falling debris caused a fire in a non-residential building.

The scope of the Russian attack against the capital was unclear, and there was no immediate information on casualties.

It was the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the capital, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using newly supplied advanced Western weapons.

The attack was carried out by strategic bombers from the Caspian region, probably using cruise missiles, and Russia later deployed reconnaissance craft over the capital. According to preliminary information, all enemy targets were destroyed, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kiev Military Administration, said in a Telegram post.

Debris fell on two districts and the fire at a garage complex was extinguished. There was no information so far about any victims, Popko said.

In the southern region of Odesa, one person died and two were wounded in a Russian missile attack, Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the Odesa military administration, said on Telegram.

"Most of the enemy's missiles were shot down over the sea by the Air Defense Forces. Unfortunately, an industrial object was hit: 1 person died, two were injured," Bratchuk said.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian air defenses, bolstered by sophisticated Western-supplied systems, thwarted an intense Russian air attack on Kiev, shooting down all missiles aimed at the capital, officials said.

The bombardment, which targeted locations across Ukraine, included six Russian Kinzhal aero-ballistic hypersonic missiles, the most fired in a single attack in the war so far, according...