Ukraine war: Russia launches 'exceptionally intense' air attack on Kyiv, 8th this month

Russia launched an "exceptionally intense" air attack on Ukraine's capital city Kyiv early Tuesday (May 16) using drones, cruise, and probably ballistic missiles, according to city officials. This was the eighth air raid in Kyiv this month. Air raid sirens were heard across nearly all of Ukraine. They blared over Kyiv and nearby regions for more than three hours, according to a report in the news agency Reuters.

Taking to Telegram, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's city military administration, said, "It was exceptional in its density - the maximum number of attack missiles in the shortest period of time."

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Citing preliminary information, Popko said the vast majority of enemy targets in the airspace of Kyiv were detected and destroyed. It is not yet known how many objects were shot down over Kyiv and if any of them managed to hit their target.

Officials said that falling debris was reported in Kyiv's Obolonskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Solomyanskyi and Darnytskyi districts. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that the debris set several cars afire and damaged a building in the Solomyanskyi.In Boryspil, a city just southeast of Kyiv, Klitschko said that air defence systems were repelling a drone attack.

The military administration, meanwhile, pointed out that damage in other districts was not significant and there was no immediate information on potential casualties there.

This air attack in Kyiv comes a day after the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said that Russian forces were no longer capable of large-scale offensive action and are mainly on the defensive- but Moscow could sustain the current rate of missile attacks.

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Speaking to Ukrainian television on Monday, Defence Intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said that Russia was on the defensive when it came to discussing "the entire front line" and they were without the resources "to repeat large-scale offensive actions," CNN reported.

"They have been preparing for defence all this time, and this is a serious factor that the Ukrainian command certainly takes into account when preparing for the de-occupation of Ukrainian territories," Yusov added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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