KYIV: Russia launched cruise missiles at Ukraine’s capital and the Odesa region early on Thursday, officials said, in an escalation ahead of a much-anticipated counteroffensive.
Most of the missiles were shot down, and one death was reported from the attacks. Loud explosions were heard in Kyiv, and falling debris caused a fire in a nonresidential building.
It was the ninth Russian air raid that targeted the capital this month, 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.