A new escalation marked the night between Ukraine and Russia, with heavy air strikes hitting the capitals of the two countries almost simultaneously.
Strong explosions were heard in central Kiev in the early hours of the night. The ballistic missile threat alarm went off just before 3:00 local time, prompting the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitschko, to launch a firm appeal to citizens via his social media channels: «Kiev is under attack with ballistic missiles. Stay in the shelters! Anti-aircraft defenses quickly activated to intercept the incoming carriers.
At the same time, Ukrainian forces launched one of the largest drone incursions since the beginning of the conflict, aiming directly at the metropolitan territory of Moscow. Over 600 unmanned aerial vehicles flew over the Moscow region. The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, said that Russian anti-aircraft managed to shoot down more than 200 drones along the approach route. The fall of the wreckage of the destroyed aircraft caused the injury of three people, damage to the ground and the immediate intervention of the emergency services.
The Russian attacks last night in Ukraine caused the death of one person and the wounding of at least six others. A woman died in a combined attack with ballistic missiles and drones in Kryvyi Rig, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Moscow instead reported having shot down over 100 drones headed towards the capital.