Russia fires a missile at kyiv, after 52 days of calm in the capital

Two loud explosions were heard, then air warning sirens sounded, but no casualties or material damage were reported in the city on Saturday morning.

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General view of Independence Square in kyiv, Ukraine, on December 9, 2020, before the start of the war between Ukraine and Russia.  (VLADIMIR SHTANKO / ANADOLU AGENCY / AFP)

Air warning sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital. A missile targeted kyiv on Saturday November 11, ending nearly two months of relative calm for the Ukrainian capital. Frontline regions, meanwhile, faced a nighttime wave of Russian drone attacks.

“After a long break of 52 days, the enemy has resumed its missile attacks on kyiv!”, declared the head of the military administration of the Ukrainian capital, Sergiï Popko, on the Telegram messaging service. He said a missile attack took place Saturday morning. Two loud explosions were heard in the city, then air alert sirens sounded shortly after. No casualties or material damage were reported in the capital during Saturday morning.

Ukraine fears a resurgence of these attacks

Asked why the alert was only given after the explosion, a military aviation spokesman told television that “Ballistic missiles fly extremely fast and are not as visible on radar as cruise missiles.” The Ukrainian Air Force is investigating whether the capital was targeted by an Iskander ballistic missile or an S-400 anti-aircraft missile.

Ukraine fears an increase in attacks of this type with the arrival of cold weather, after last winter’s strikes which targeted the Ukrainian energy network, leaving thousands of people without heat or electricity for long periods.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukraine has deployed more Western air defense systems to deal with new winter attacks on its energy networks. Ukrainian defense forces shot down a missile over kyiv on September 21. The falling debris from the machine injured seven people, including a child.

Other regions of Ukraine faced drone attacks between Friday evening and Saturday, with the army saying that around two-thirds of the 31 Iranian-made aircraft had been destroyed. Over the past 24 hours, two people were killed and eight others injured in the south in Kherson, Governor Oleksandr Produkin said.


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