The Ukrainian capital was attacked by drones on Monday morning, the military administration of the city of Kyiv said and called on the population to seek protection.
In the midst of war, the country is hit by water and power cuts, which the government is trying to restore.
“The enemy is attacking the capital,” the government wrote on Telegram on Monday. By that time, nine “enemy” drones had already been shot down in Kyiv airspace, she added.
It states that Russian forces used Iranian “Shahed” drones to carry out barrage fire, which have been used in the shelling of Kyiv in recent weeks.
The city government issued an initial air alert at 1:56 a.m. local time (23:56 GMT), which lasted just over three hours. A second alert was issued at 05:24 (03:24 GMT) and cleared within half an hour.
When the sirens of such alarms sound, the population is urged to seek shelter.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed on Monday that there had been “explosions” in the capital.
“Several explosions were heard in the Solomianskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts of the capital,” he said. All actors “are (currently) working on site. More details (will be given) later”.
Ukraine has faced numerous deadly airstrikes by Russian forces in the past decade since the invasion in February.
Facing a series of military setbacks this fall, Russia, starting in October, opted for a tactic of massive bombing to destroy power grids and transformers, leaving millions of civilians cold and dark in the dead of winter.
The Russian Defense Ministry assures that these attacks are aimed at military and energy installations in Ukraine and disrupt “the transfer of foreign-made weapons and ammunition.”
Power restored for 9 million Ukrainians
After a full-scale attack in several cities on Friday involving more than 70 missiles, the national electricity company was forced to impose emergency shutdowns to repair the damaged power grid.
In the capital, people huddled in subway stations in search of warmth and shelter while officials struggled to restore power.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, electricity was restored to around 9 million residents on Sunday evening.
Last week, Zelenskyy’s western allies promised to give him an additional one billion euros in emergency aid.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce the delivery of a large quantity of artillery ammunition to Ukraine at a meeting with leaders from Northern Europe, the Baltic States and the Netherlands in Latvia on Monday.
Several Ukrainian military officials have warned that Moscow is preparing a major winter offensive aimed at capturing the capital.