(Kyiv) Ukraine shot down eight Russian missiles flying towards Kyiv early Monday, the Ukrainian army said, with local authorities reporting people were held responsible by emergency services.
Eighteen “Shahed” drones were also launched by Moscow during the night from the annexed Crimean peninsula before being destroyed by the Ukrainian defense, “most of them in the Mykolaiv region” (south), indicated Kyiv Air Force.
“According to initial reports, around 4 a.m.” (9 p.m. Eastern Time), Russia “began a missile attack against the Kyiv region.”
“In total, the air defense destroyed eight air targets that were flying towards the capital along a ballistic trajectory,” the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Telegram.
Missile fragments fell on the Darnytskyi district, in the southeast of the capital, reported the head of the Kyiv military administration Sergii Popko.
Four residents were treated by emergency services, including one for a shrapnel wound, he added on the same social network.
According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who spoke on Telegram, “a missile fragment damaged a building under construction,” causing a fire that was quickly extinguished, while another piece of projectile crashed. on a lawn.
“No impact against critical infrastructure […] was not observed” according to initial information, Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the military administration of the Kyiv region, described on Facebook.
Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of preparing a campaign of systematic strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure in the middle of winter, as it did last year.
During the winter of 2022, millions of people were without power during a cold wave for long periods due to these strikes.
Kyiv has since reinforced its air defense systems with Western weapons, but says more is needed to protect vulnerable regions.
On November 11, Ukraine said it had shot down a missile that targeted its capital and put an end to nearly two months of relative calm for Kyiv. No victims had been recorded.
Call for unity of the 27 against a backdrop of Hungarian threats
The head of European diplomacy called on Monday the Twenty-Seven to remain united in their support for Ukraine at a time when Hungary is threatening to block any new aid to Kyiv.
“I hope that the unity of the European Union will not be broken, because now is not the time to weaken our support for Ukraine,” declared Josep Borrell upon his arrival in Brussels for a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
“Hungary’s position turned out to be truly deplorable,” said Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonene. “It is crucial that we continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary,” she added.
EU foreign ministers are meeting in the Belgian capital at the start of a “crucial” week for Europe, according to the head of Latvian diplomacy Krisjanis Karins, before a European summit planned for the end of the week, very expected by Ukraine.
The 27 must decide whether to continue their military and financial support for Ukraine, and whether or not to open EU accession negotiations with this country at war with Russia.
On these two subjects, Viktor Orban’s Hungary threatened to block everything, judging that the EU must first have a “strategic debate” on the future of its relations with Ukraine before any new rapprochement.
“We must make strategic decisions and commit to a victory for Ukraine, if we do not do this, the price will be incredibly high,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.
Asked about the position of Hungary, Moscow’s closest ally in the EU, the Lithuanian minister, whose country was once part of the Soviet Union, judged that it was anti-European.
“The only way I read the Hungarian position, and not just on Ukraine, is that it is against Europe and everything that Europe means,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected in Washington on Tuesday, where he will meet his American counterpart Joe Biden. Crucial American aid for this country at war since February 2022 has been blocked in Congress due to reluctance among certain Republican elected officials.