WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia launches missile and drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine's military says

Russia launched a missile and drone attack on Kyiv early on Wednesday with preliminary information showing there were no injuries or damage in the Ukrainian capital, Ukrainian military said.

Ukraine's air defence systems destroyed all air weapons on their approach to the city, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration said on the Telegram messaging app.

He added that according to preliminary information, Russia used a combination of cruise and ballistic missiles as well as drones in its attack. The size of the attack was not immediately clear.

Reuters could not independently verify what weapons were used, but Reuters witnesses said that several blasts that sounded like air defence systems at work were heard in and around Kyiv.

It was not immediately known whether there was any damage in the Kyiv region, which surrounds the capital and which is a separate administrative entity.

Air raid alerts lasted several hours across all of Ukraine, starting soon after 0000 GMT and including in regions bordering NATO-member Poland.

Polish and allied aircraft have been activated as a precaution, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said on the social media platform X. That is often the case when Russia launches an air attack on Ukraine's western regions.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian troops liberate two communities in Ukraine operation — top brass

Russia’s Battlegroup West liberated the settlement of Artyomovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic and the settlement of Timkovka in the Kharkov Region over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"In their active operations, Battlegroup West units liberated the settlements of Artyomovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Timkovka in the Kharkov Region," the ministry said in a statement.

Reuters/Tass