Russia attacks Kyiv in new airstrikes

Russia used Iranian-made Shahed drones to attack Kyiv for the sixth time this month, but all were shot down, said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration.

 A view of an explosion of a drone in the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. (photo credit: GLEB GARANICH/REUTERS)
A view of an explosion of a drone in the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023.
(photo credit: GLEB GARANICH/REUTERS)

Russia launched new drone strikes on Kyiv and parts of central and northern Ukraine early on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

There were also no reports of new attacks on southern Ukraine, which had been struck almost every night since Russia pulled out of a deal allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea on July 17.

Russia used Iranian-made Shahed drones to attack Kyiv for the sixth time this month, but all were shot down, said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration.

Air raid alerts blared for more than three-and-half hours over the Kyiv region. Regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said there had been no reports of damage or casualties although falling debris set off a fire in a field.

Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said air defenses had been engaged in three regions in the north of the country.

 Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. (credit: GLEB GARANICH/REUTERS)
Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. (credit: GLEB GARANICH/REUTERS)

"About 10 drones were recorded, the information is being clarified," he told Ukrainian television, adding that up to five were destroyed.

Regional officials said an unidentified infrastructure object was hit in the northern region of Zhytomyr, two drones came down in fields and one in an empty hangar in the central region of Cherkasy, and one drone was shot down in each of the central Poltava and northern Sumy regions.

Civilian fatalities in Donetsk on Monday

Separately, the governor of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine said two people had been killed, including a 10-year-old boy, and seven wounded in Russian shelling of the town of Kostiantynivka on Monday evening.

Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, had spoken of taking harsh retaliatory measures against Ukraine after two drones damaged buildings in Moscow early on Monday.