Ukraine shoots down ‘29 of 30 missiles’ launched by Russia

Russia launched cruise missiles at Ukraine’s capital and the Odesa region early on Thursday, officials said, in an escalation ahead of a much-anticipated counteroffensive. Ukraine said it shot down 29 of 30 missiles launched by Russia, and that one death was reported from the overnight attacks. Black smoke filled the sky over Kyiv during the ninth attack on the capital this month. Falling debris from missiles hit by air defences set off fires in eastern parts of Kyiv, causing minor damage but no casualties in the capital, officials said. Ukraine’s military said the barrage included cruise missiles fired from the sea, air and land, and that two Iranian-made Shahed attack drones and two reconnaissance drones had been knocked out. “All targets over Kyiv were shot down,” General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, said in a statement posted on Telegram messaging app. In the southern region of Odesa, one person died and two were wounded in a Russian missile attack, Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the Odesa military administration, said on Telegram. Russian hypersonic missile scientists face treason accusations “Most of the enemy’s missiles were shot down over the sea by the Air Defence Forces,” Bratchuk said. After particularly heavy air strikes on Kyiv on Tuesday, Ukraine said it had shot down six Russian “Kinzhal” missiles. Moscow later denied losing six of the hypersonic missiles which it has touted as all but unstoppable. Russia said it had destroyed a US-made Patriot missile defence system during Tuesday’s attacks but Ukraine denied this. Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said on Thursday the Patriot system was still being used by Kyiv. “Therefore, I ask everyone to remain calm. The air defence is working and will continue to offer protection,” he told Ukrainian television. Sophisticated Western air defence systems have helped spare Kyiv from the kind of destruction witnessed along the main front line in the country’s east and south. While most of the ground fighting is stalemated along that front line, both sides are targeting other territory with long-range weapons. The latest air attacks came a day after Ukraine reached an agreement with Russia to extend a deal allowing grain exports across the Black Sea. The deal, a rare example of cooperation between the warring sides, was welcomed by the United Nations and the United States, though both called for more certainty over the exports as Russia has threatened to end the pact, which is crucial to global food security. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which has a central role in the grain deal, announced the two-month extension, saying Russia had agreed not to block ships from leaving two Ukrainian ports. “These agreements matter for global food security; Ukrainian and Russian products feed the world,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said. Can Ukraine knock out Russian superweapon with Patriots? “I hope we will reach a comprehensive agreement to improve, expand and extend the initiative.” Russia has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the deal, which was meant to expire on May 18, and again on Wednesday denounced “disparities” in how it is implemented. The grain deal came as a Chinese special envoy called for confidence-building measures to promote peace talks during his visit to Ukraine. Li Hui, China’s representative in charge of Eurasian affairs, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and other officials during his stay through Wednesday. He underlined Beijing’s willingness to seek a ceasefire and the restoration of peace as soon as possible, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The envoy noted that there is “no panacea for resolving the crisis,” and urged all parties to “accumulate mutual trust and create conditions for peace talks to stop the war,” it said. Since the beginning of the war, Beijing has repeatedly emphasised its commitment to negotiations. But China has refrained from publicly condemning Russia’s military aggression, which has drawn criticism from Ukraine, the United States and its allies. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said Kuleba emphasised to Li that Kyiv does not accept any peace plans that would “involve the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict”. Kuleba also said restoring peace in Ukraine depended on “respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the country. Europe takes step towards making Russia pay for Ukraine war Ukraine’s military said on Thursday it had made new territorial gains in heavy fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut, despite being outgunned and outnumbered by Russian forces. In the past week, Kyiv has said it has stepped up pressure on Moscow’s troops to the north and south of Bakhmut. Russian mercenary forces say they have moved forward inside the city, where Kyiv has acknowledged they have made small advances. “Despite the fact that our units do not have an advantage in equipment … and personnel, they have continued to advance on the [Russian] flanks, and covered a distance of 150 to 1,700 metres,” military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi said in televised comments. Moscow sees Bakhmut, a city of about 70,000 before Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly 15 months ago, as a stepping stone towards capturing the rest of the eastern Donbas region. Ukrainian officials have signalled that the advances around Bakhmut are not part of a broader counteroffensive planned by Kyiv to push back the Russian forces. Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, dpa

Ukraine shoots down ‘29 of 30 missiles’ launched by Russia

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Overnight missile attack on Kyiv was the ninth strike against the capital this month Russia has stepped up air strikes as Ukraine prepares to launch a counteroffensive

Overnight missile attack on Kyiv was the ninth strike against the capital this month

Russia has stepped up air strikes as Ukraine prepares to launch a counteroffensive