Barrage of Russian drones strikes Kyiv; city rattled by explosions

By Tom Balmforth and Gleb Garanich

KYIV (Reuters) -Russia launched nearly three dozen drones at Kyiv early on Sunday, with blasts ringing out across the Ukrainian capital and the surrounding region for around two hours and debris falling across several city districts, Ukrainian officials said.

The night sky was illuminated by explosions from air defences engaging targets and blasts were heard throughout the city. At least one plume of smoke was spotted rising from in between buildings.

Kyiv resident Liudmyla said she heard the buzzing of the Iranian-made drones before a blast wave shattered windows in her building and the jars on her windowsill. "It was a very frightening experience - I can't even put it into words."

The state emergency service reported that debris had fallen in three different districts, but there was no serious damage. Kyiv officials also said four people were wounded.

Regional Governor Ruslan Kravchenko wrote on Facebook that an unspecified infrastructure facility and eight houses had been damaged by the overnight strikes.

Ukraine's air force said the military destroyed 26 out of 33 drones launched by Russia, all of which targeted Kyiv and the region around it.

There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attacks. Moscow has conducted regular air strikes on Ukrainian population centres far from the eastern and southern front lines of its 18-month-old invasion.

A Russian attack killed 17 people on Wednesday in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian officials said.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth, Gleb Garanich and Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey in Kyiv, Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Elaine Monaghan in Washington; editing by Mark Heinrich and Giles Elgood)