16 May 2023 , 06:45
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Residents in Kyiv were woken up to the sound of loud explosions early on Tuesday as Russia once again launched an intense air attack on the capital.
The city's head of the military, Serhii Popko, described the attacks, which injured three, as "exceptional in its density."
War expert Jimmy Rushton said it was one of the largest missile barrages of the entire war, while many Ukrainians were awake the whole night in fear.
Ukraine's armed forces repelled six Kinzhal missiles, nine calibre missiles and three ballistic missiles.
Russian warmonger leader Vladimir Putin has long bragged about the Kinzhal missile's capabilities and previously said they were "unstoppable" with the capacity to travel ten times faster than the speed of sound.
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"[There were] the maximum number of attack missiles in the shortest period of time," he said in a post on Telegram.
However, Mr Popko said the "vast majority" had been detected and destroyed.
People hide in a shelter in a residential building in Kyiv (Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)A total of 18 "air, sea, and land-based missiles of various types" were launched at the country, said Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
The attacks came hot on the heels of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky concluding a whirlwind European tour to greet Ukraine's key wartime allies.
Following visiting numerous countries, including the UK, he gained a tranche of pledged military aid.
Firefighters put out a fire caused by fragments of a Russian rocket on 16th May (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Moscow claimed to have downed a British-supplied Storm Shadow lying range missile but the US National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said: “I cannot confirm those reports.”
Moscow is enraged by the British supply of missiles but Putin’s spokesman said it would “not affect” the course of the war "but will lead to retaliatory actions by the Russian Federation”.
Fragments of a Russian rocket fell down in a city zoo (AP)It was obvious to us from the outset that the Ukrainians would use British Storm Shadow missiles to target civilians in Donbas, the recent shelling of Luhansk being evidence of this.
Russian ambassador Andrei Kelin claimed UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles were being used by Ukraine to target civilians in the Donbas.
The Ukrainian leader said he was also “very positive” about creating a “jets coalition” in the war against Russia, with a decision on the provision of Western fighter jets expected soon.
A firefighter tries to put out a blaze caused by fragments of a Russian rocket (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK was preparing to open a flight school to train Ukrainian pilots and France has also now offered to train Ukrainian fighter pilots, but President Emmanuel Macron ruled out sending warplanes to Kyiv.
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Debris fell across several districts in the capital. In the Solomyansky district, the debris caused a fire in a non-residential building.
Debris set cars on fire and fell on the grounds of a zoo, but no losses were reported, said Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko.