Russia fires 30 cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets, Ukraine says most intercepted

Russia fired 30 cruise missiles into various areas of Ukraine early Thursday in the latest overnight test of Ukraine’s air defenses, which shot down 29, officials said.

One person was killed and two were wounded by a Russian missile that passed through and hit an industrial building in the southern region of Odesa, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the region’s military administration.

Loud explosions were heard in Kyiv as Kremlin forces targeted the capital for the ninth time this month in an apparent escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian counterattack using newly supplied advanced Western weapons.

Debris fell on two districts of Kyiv, starting a fire in a garage complex. There was no immediate word on casualties, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv Military Administration, said in a Telegram post.

Ukraine also shot down two Russian bombing drones and two reconnaissance drones, according to authorities.

Bombings across Ukraine included six Russian Kinzhal hypersonic aero-ballistic missiles – the most fired in a single strike in the war so far, according to Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat.

The missiles were launched from Russian sea, air and ground bases, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s top commander, wrote in Telegram.

Several waves of missiles were aimed at Ukrainian territory between 9pm on Wednesday and 5.30pm on Thursday, he said.

Russian forces used strategic bombers from the Caspian region and apparently fired Soviet-era X-101 and X-55 missiles, Kyiv authorities said. Russia then deployed surveillance drones in the capital.

Missiles were also fired earlier in the week

In the last major airstrike in Kyiv on Tuesday, Ukrainian air defenses backed by sophisticated Western-supplied systems shot down all incoming missiles, officials said.

The attack used hypersonic missiles, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly cited as providing a major strategic advantage. The missile, which is among the most sophisticated weapons in Russia’s arsenal, is difficult to detect and intercept due to its hypersonic speed and maneuverability.

But sophisticated Western air defense systems, including American-made Patriot missiles, helped save Kyiv from the kind of damage seen on key front lines in the east and south of the country.

While the ground fighting was largely deadlocked on that front line, both sides targeted their areas with long-range weapons.

Meanwhile, Kremlin-appointed authorities in occupied Crimea reported the derailment of eight train cars Thursday due to an explosion.

Russian state media reported that the train was carrying grain.

Citing a source in the emergency services, the state news agency RIA Novosti said that the incident occurred not far from the city of Simferopol. Crimea Railways reported that the derailment was caused by “unauthorized interference” and that there were no casualties.

The head of the Russian-imposed Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said that train services in the affected parts were suspended.

Also, two people were injured in a drone strike in Russia’s southern Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, the regional governor reported Thursday.

In a Telegram post, Roman Starovoit claimed that Ukrainian forces dropped an explosive device from a drone at a sports and recreation complex.