Kyiv's air defense systems shot down 10 Russian drones on Wednesday, the city's mayor said, while the United States is close to finalizing plans to send its Patriot air defense system to Ukraine in a potentially pivotal move in the conflict.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that air-defense systems shot down 10 Iranian-made Shahed drones early on Wednesday.
The Kyiv administration said that according to preliminary information, two administrative buildings in Shevchenkivskyi were damaged and information about potential casualties was being clarified.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the information.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, the mayor said that blasts hit the city's central Shevchenkivskyi district.
Firefighters work to put out a fire in a residential building hit by a Russian strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 15, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/GLEB GARANICH)"Emergency services dispatched," Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app. "Details later."
The capital and the Kyiv region remained under air raid sirens at 0600 GMT, more than two hours after they first went off.
"Weaklings," Ukraine's presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app after the explosions in Kyiv.
Oleksiy Kuleba, the governor of the Kyiv region, said that air defense systems were at work.
