Ukraine says it downed 2 missiles, 60 drones during Russia's overnight attack

[August 29, 2024]  KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine said it shot down two missiles and 60 drones over nine regions in an overnight attack, after Russia stepped up its assault on Ukraine's energy infrastructure earlier this week.   

More than 2-1/2 years since Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv is pushing the West for additional air defense and support in jointly shooting down targets over Ukraine to repel such attacks.

Ukrainian service personnel use searchlights as they search for drones in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 29, 2024. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

On Thursday, Ukraine destroyed 60 out of 74 Russia-launched attack drones and two out of five missiles. The air force said it lost track of 14 more drones, which likely fell on Ukrainian territory.

About 15 drones launched by Russia in its third attack on the Ukrainian capital in four days did not reach their targets, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said on Thursday.

Drone debris damaged the windows and doors of an apartment building and caused a fire in a non-residential building which was extinguished, Popko said in a statement after the latest Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, which were mainly overnight.

Kyiv regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said the drones caused no damage to critical infrastructure in the Kyiv region, and city and regional authorities reported no casualties.

Falling debris also caused a fire on the grounds of a private enterprise in the central region of Cherkasy, the regional governor said. Some 75 rescuers tackled the fire that had spread over 2,700 square meters (29,00 square feet) by Thursday morning, Ukraine's state emergency service said.

Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, attacked energy facilities across Ukraine on Monday in airstrikes which Ukrainian officials said involved more than 200 missiles and drones.

The renewed assault on the power grid has forced Kyiv to rely on emergency and planned power cuts this week to try to stabilize the system.

(Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Timothy Heritage and Sharon Singleton)

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