Ukraine’s Kyiv region hit by Iranian-made drones, ‘critical’ facilities hit – National

Ukraine’s capital region was hit by Iranian-made suicide drones early Thursday, officials said, sending rescuers to the scene as residents woke up to air raid sirens for the fourth consecutive morning after Russia’s major assault across the country earlier this week.

Kyiv Regional Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said the strike occurred in the vicinity of the capital. It was not yet clear whether there had been any casualties.

Deputy head of the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Telegram that « critical infrastructure » in the region had been affected, without giving details on which.

In the southern city of Mykolaiv, nighttime shelling destroyed a five-storey building as fighting continued along Ukraine’s southern front.

Mykolaiv Regional Governor Vitali Kim said an 11-year-old boy had been rescued from the rubble, where he had spent six hours, and rescuers on Thursday morning were looking for seven other people, Kim said.

He said the building was hit by an S-300 missile which is usually used to target military aircraft, but the Russians are apparently increasingly using them for inaccurate ground strikes.

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Top US General Suggests Russian Strikes Against Ukrainian Civilians Are Considered War Crimes

Early morning attacks on Ukraine’s southern front have become a daily occurrence in Russia’s war as forces in Kyiv push a counteroffensive aimed at retaking territory occupied by Moscow.

Attacks on Kyiv had become rare before the capital was hit at least four times in massive strikes on Monday, which killed at least 19 people and injured more than 100 across the country.

Western leaders pledged this week to send more weapons to Ukraine, including air defense systems and weapons Kyiv has said are essential to defeating invading Russian forces.

Britain said on Thursday it would provide missiles for NASAM’s advanced anti-aircraft systems that the Pentagon plans to send to Ukraine in the coming weeks. It is also sending hundreds of additional aerial drones for intelligence gathering and logistical support, as well as 18 additional howitzer artillery guns.

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G7 leaders pledge to support Ukraine ‘as long as it takes’

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said « these weapons will help Ukraine defend its skies against attack and bolster its overall missile defense alongside the US NASAMS. »

The systems, which Kyiv has long wanted, will provide medium and long-range defense against missile attacks.

The offer comes as NATO defense ministers meet in Brussels, aiming to help bolster Ukraine’s air defenses after Monday’s widespread Russian assault.

Ukraine’s military said this week that its current air defenses had shot down dozens of incoming Russian missiles and Shahed-136 drones, the so-called kamikaze drones that have played an increasingly deadly role in the war.

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