KYIV (Reuters) - Blasts rang out over Kyiv on the morning of Wednesday 13 November 2024 after officials said Russia launched its first missile attack on the Ukrainian capital since August and urged residents to take cover.
The scale of the strike and extent of any damage were not immediately clear. The attack involved missiles launched by strategic bombers as well as ballistic missiles, the military said. No casualties or damage have been reported so far.
"Putin is launching a missile attack on Kyiv right now," Andriy Yermak, the head of the president's office wrote on Telegram.
The missile strike came after what officials said was a drone attack. Kyiv has faced Russian drone attacks almost nightly for weeks. Vitali Klitschko, the city's mayor, said a drone was still flying over central Kyiv in the morning.
"Explosions in the city. Air defence forces are working. Stay in shelters!" the Kyiv city administration wrote on the Telegram messenger.
Ukrainians have been nervously waiting for a major missile attack for months, worried that it could deal a big blow to the hobbled energy system, causing long blackouts as the winter sets in and electricity consumption is high.
Some of Kyiv's residents complain of a lack of sleep from regular drone attacks, which trigger the air raid alert, which sounds across the city and buzzes on phones.
Around 100 residents were sheltering in central metro station Universitet in the morning, including small, fully-dressed children sleeping on yoga mats and elderly women sitting on fold-out chairs.
"The mornings are totally ruined. I started college in September and every morning has been ruined by the bloody Russians. I cannot sleep, cannot think and drink energy drinks all the time," said Mykyta, a teenager hugging his little dog in the metro.
Despite regular drone attacks, Russia has not struck the Ukrainian capital with missiles since 26 August 2024 when it launched a massive attack across the country that officials said deployed more than 200 drones and missiles.
Ukraine said that attack killed seven people and struck energy facilities across the country, calling it the "most massive attack" of the war.