[1/3] A scene shows the Ukrainian capital at dawn during a Russian drone strike amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, May 30, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
KYIV, June 4 (Reuters) – Russia launched new airstrikes against Ukraine early on Sunday, hitting an airport in the central region but failing to hit the capital Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.
Air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat told local television that four of the six cruise missiles were shot down by air defense forces but two hit an “operational airfield” near the central city of Grobyvnitsky.
He said two of the five Iranian-made drones launched by Russia hit infrastructure in the northern Sumi region.
Kyiv officials said air defense forces shot down all the missiles aimed at the capital before they reached the city.
Separately, a Russian missile attack near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Sunday killed a 2-year-old girl and wounded 22 others, the regional governor said.
Russia has stepped up regular attacks on Kyiv since May, particularly at night, in what officials say is an attempt to damage morale ahead of a long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake Russian-held territory.
“For the second night in a row, the Kaivans did not hear the explosions above,” Serhii Babko, head of the local military administration, said in a telegram.
Reuters could not independently verify the claim, but witnesses reported hearing several explosions in the Kyiv area.
Air raid warnings were in place across Ukraine for nearly three hours.
Reporting by Gleb Garanich and Dan Peleschuk in Kyiv and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Daniel Wallis, William Mallard and Nick MacPhee
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