Russia launched several waves of drone strikes on Kiev early on November 19, for the second night in a row, stepping up attacks on the Ukrainian capital after a weeks-long hiatus, the city's military administration said, according to Reuters.
"Enemy drones were launched in multiple groups and attacked Kiev in waves, from different directions, while constantly changing movement vectors along the route," Sergei Popko, the head of Kiev's military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.
"That's why the air raid alert was announced several times in the capital," he added.
The Air Force of Ukraine announced that its air defense systems destroyed 15 of 20 Russian "Shahed" drones over the regions of Kyiv, Poltava and Cherkassy.
There were no initial reports of "critical damage" or casualties, Popko said earlier. He also said that close to 10 drones were shot down over Kyiv and its suburbs.
Cherkassy Governor Ihor Taburec wrote on Telegram that the rubble "slightly damaged" five houses, but that no one was injured.
The governor of the Kyiv region, Ruslan Kravchenko, said that an infrastructural facility was damaged in the region. There were no casualties.
Reuters could not independently verify these reports. There were no comments from Russia.
Russia began striking Ukraine's energy, military and transport infrastructure in October 2022, six months after Moscow's troops failed to capture the capital and retreated to eastern and southern Ukraine.
Last winter, Russia struck Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones, leaving millions without electricity, heat and water during the coldest months of the year.
After a 52-day break, Moscow resumed airstrikes on Kiev this month. On Saturday, Ukrainian officials said that all the drones headed for Kiev had been destroyed, but that some had hit infrastructure in other parts of Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials have warned that Russia will continue bombing Ukrainian civilian infrastructure during the winter months.
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