UKRAINE’s military said Sunday it had shot down 45 Russian missiles and 266 attack drones in eight hours as Moscow launched a second straight night of major air strikes, killing at least 12 people.
“Most regions of Ukraine were affected by the hostile attack. Enemy air strikes were recorded in 22 areas, and downed cruise missiles and attack UAVs (drones) fell in 15 locations,” the air force said on Telegram.
Meanwhile, Russian strikes have killed at least 12 people in Ukraine overnight into Sunday, officials said, as Kyiv and Moscow traded fire amid an ongoing major prisoner swap.
Ukraine’s emergency services described the night of “terror” as Russia launched a second straight night of major air strikes on Ukraine, including on the capital Kyiv, after pummelling the country with ballistic missiles and drones overnight Friday to Saturday.
The latest fire comes as the two sides pursue their biggest prisoner swap since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and as the United States tries to broker a ceasefire to halt the three-year-old war.
The death toll from the latest Russian strikes included three children ages eight, 12 and 17, killed in the northwestern region of Zhytomyr, officials said.
Ukraine’s military said early Sunday it had shot down 45 Russian missiles and 266 attack drones overnight.
Four people were also reported dead in the western Khmelnytskyi region, four in the Kyiv region and one in Mykolaiv in the south.
Emergency services said four people were killed and 16 injured in the Kyiv region, including three children, in the “massive night attack”.
AFP journalists heard explosions in Kyiv, with Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city’s military administration, warning “the night will not be easy”.
The capital was “under attack” but “air defences are operating”, said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Russian authorities meanwhile reported that a dozen drones flying towards Moscow had been downed.
In Moscow, restrictions were imposed on at least four airports, including the main hub Sheremetyevo, the Russian civilian aviation authority said.