Russia attacked the centre of Kyiv in the early hours of Monday with drones and shelled other cities around Ukraine.

Soldiers fired into the air trying to shoot down drones after the blasts rocked central Kyiv, while residents fled for shelter.

According to Reuters, an anti-aircraft rocket was seen streaking into the sky, followed by an explosion and orange flames.

Pieces of a drone used in the attack that bore the words, “For Belgorod” – an apparent reference to Ukrainian shelling of a Russian region bordering Ukraine – were also seen on Monday.

The attacks came exactly one week after Russia unleashed its heaviest aerial bombardment of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities since the start of the war – also during morning rush hour.

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“All night and all morning, the enemy terrorizes the civilian population. Kamikaze drones and missiles are attacking all of Ukraine. A residential building was hit in Kyiv.

“The enemy can attack our cities, but it won’t be able to break us. The occupiers will get only fair punishment and condemnation of future generations. And we will get victory,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app.

There was no immediate word on casualties from the blasts. Ukraine said the Kyiv attacks used Iran-made ‘suicide drones’, which fly to their target and detonate, which Russia has increasingly deployed in recent weeks.

Iran denies supplying drones to Russia, while Kremlin has not commented.

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg may consider further sanctions on Iran if they can establish concrete evidence that it is supplying drones to Russia, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said.

Russia has accused Ukraine of hitting targets in Belgorod region near the border. Pro-Russian news sources on the Telegram social media app reported that Ukraine had struck Belgorod’s airport overnight. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv, which typically does not comment on incidents in Russia.

The Star