Russia renews missile attacks on kyiv and attacks intensify in the east

KIEV, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Russia launched a missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kiev and its surrounding areas on Saturday for the first time in more than seven weeks and bombarded the east and south of the country with drones, reports said. announced Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian border guards said they had recaptured a village in the northeast of the country, adjacent to the Russian border.

Officials in the east, the center of Russia’s slow 20-month advance, said Ukrainian forces had repelled numerous attacks by Moscow troops and were planning further attacks, particularly around the devastated city of Moscow. Avdiivka.

Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said a Russian ballistic missile was launched toward the capital at around 8 a.m. (0600 GMT).

“After a long break of 52 days, the enemy has resumed its missile attacks on kyiv,” Popko said on the Telegram messaging app. “The missile failed to reach kyiv, air defenders shot it down as it approached the capital.”

Popko said there were no casualties or major damage.

Ruslan Kravchenko, regional governor of the central Kyiv region, said five private houses and several commercial buildings in the area were damaged. He said two Russian missiles hit a field between settlements.

Ukrainian air defenses also shot down 19 Iranian-made “Shahed” drones out of 31 launched by Russian forces overnight in the southern and eastern regions, the air force said.

“This is neither the first nor the last combined attack,” Ukrainian intelligence chief Andriy Yusov told national television. He highlighted the increasing number of air alerts in recent days.

UKRAINIAN FLAG IN THE BORDER VILLAGE

An online video from the Kharkiv region shows border guards waving the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag in the village of Topoli, near the Russian border, without further explanation. A year ago, Ukrainian forces launched a lightning offensive to recapture large swaths of territory in the northeast and have been engaged in a counter-offensive in the east and south since June.

Prosecutors in the northern Sumy region said two people on motorcycles died when Russian forces shelled a road.

In the east, military spokesman Oleskandr Shtupun said Ukrainian troops had repelled 35 Russian assaults in and near Avdiivka, which has been under intense fire since mid-October.

Shtoupun said on national television that 70 percent of airstrikes in the east and south were targeting Avdiivka.

Avdiivka officials say they anticipate a new Russian push on the city once the ground dries after days of heavy rain. Videos show buildings reduced to shells and officials say a growing number of the 1,500 remaining residents, out of a pre-war population of 32,000, were preparing to evacuate.

In the Black Sea port of Odessa, regional governor Oleh Kiper said the southern region was attacked by missiles and drones Friday evening and overnight. The strikes injured three people and damaged port infrastructure, he said without giving further details.

Russia has stepped up its bombing of Ukrainian ports, including Odessa, and grain infrastructure since Moscow withdrew in July from a deal allowing exports from Ukrainian ports.

Russian accounts of the fighting say its forces struck positions near Bakhmut, a town captured by Moscow in May after months of heavy fighting.

Reuters was unable to verify the accounts of both parties.

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