(Reuters) – Ukrainian air defense crews destroyed 15 of the 18 missiles fired by Russian forces in the early hours of Monday, the Ukrainian military said, as sirens sounded across the country for more than three hours.
“Around 2:30 am (1130 GMT), Russian invaders attacked Ukraine from strategic aviation aircraft,” read a post on the Telegram channel of the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhny.
It added that 15 of the 18 missiles were destroyed.
Kyiv city officials wrote on the messaging app Telegram that all missiles aimed at the capital had been destroyed.
The city administration said, “According to (initial information), no civilian casualties were recorded, and no damage to residential facilities or infrastructure was recorded.”
Officials said air defense systems were also called into action to protect the Kiev region, an administrative entity separate from the city, from Russian missiles.
Ukrainian media also reported explosions in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions.
Russia has intensified its missile attacks on Ukraine in the past few days. Reuters could not independently verify reports of recent explosions.
(Reporting by Lydia Kelly from Melbourne); Editing by Christian Schmollinger
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