Russia launches overnight missile, drone attacks on Ukraine - Kyiv

[October 16, 2023]  KYIV (Reuters) - Russia launched five missiles and 12 kamikaze drones at Ukraine in an overnight attack, Ukraine's air force said early on Monday, with officials reporting further artillery and air strikes.

The air force said the missiles, of which it shot down two, targeted northern and eastern regions, while the drones, of which 11 were downed, were launched in several directions with a particular focus on western Ukraine.  

Rescuers work at the site of vegetable oil factory destroyed by Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Poltava region, Ukraine August 28, 2023. Head of Ukraine's Presidential Office Andriy Yermak via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

The governor of the eastern region of Poltava, Filip Pronin, said the region had been attacked by drones and missiles, and that three civilians had been hospitalized as a result.

"Fortunately, no civilian or critical infrastructure was hit. However, missile fragments damaged several private homes," he wrote on the Telegram messaging service.

Russia also carried out artillery shelling and air strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region, damaging several residential buildings and infrastructure and injuring one elderly woman, the governor there said.

(Reporting by Max Hunder and Lidia Kelly)

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