The Ukrainian military shot down 24 of 28 attack drones launched overnight by Russia, Kyiv’s air force said on Friday.
The Iranian-made drones were destroyed over parts of central, southern and western Ukraine.
At least two injuries were reported in the capital Kyiv.
It was the sixth such attack on Kyiv this month and part of a larger drone swarm aimed at parts of central, southern and western Ukraine, the country’s air force said.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that a drone had hit a block of flats in the Solomyanskyi district, south of the city centre, triggering a fire on the upper floors that was quickly brought under control.
Emergency services also said several apartments were damaged on the 24th, 25th and 26th storeys of the building. The incident occurred a few hundred metres from a maternity hospital.
A video posted on social media showed a giant orange flame going skyward in the night.
Klitschko also said drone fragments had set fire to a house under construction in Darnytskyi district on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river that runs through the city.
Pictures posted online showed construction materials strewn about the site.
Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said fragments from a downed drone had struck an apartment building in a third area, also south of the city centre. He posted pictures showing smashed windows and heavy damage to apartments.
Ukraine’s southern command said an unspecified infrastructure facility in the Mykolaiv region had been struck and that fragments from a downed drone had damaged a grain storage facility in the Odesa region.
No injuries were reported and the resulting fires were extinguished, authorities said.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Friday that Russia will never leave in peace any country that seizes its assets, adding that it would look at what Western assets it could seize in retaliation in such a scenario.
The Kremlin was commenting on an idea being actively discussed in the West where some politicians have suggested that frozen Russian assets worth $300 billion be handed to Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing that any such seizure would deal a serious blow to the international financial system and that Russia would defend its rights in the courts and through other means if it happened. – Reuters
