KYIV: Ukrainian forces claimed they thwarted a Russian missile attack on the capital Kyiv where air raid sirens sounded before dawn on Sunday, marking the third ballistic missile assault on the capital this month.
“This is the third ballistic missile attack on the capital in August with a clear interval of six days between each attack,” the Kyiv City Military Administration posted on Telegram after the early morning barrage.
Ukrainian officials said that drones were detected approaching Kyiv. However, all enemy drones were reportedly intercepted and destroyed before reaching the city. The administration said that the missiles used in the attack were likely of North Korean origin, specifically the KN-23 type. Both the United States and South Korea have accused North Korea of supplying Russia with ammunition and missiles for its ongoing war in Ukraine.
This latest missile attack comes on the heels of a deadly Russian barrage last weekend that resulted in the deaths of a 35-year-old man and his four-year-old son near Kyiv, with three other persons sustaining serious injuries.
The recent surge in missile attacks and escalating tensions follow Ukraine’s significant military actions on Russian soil. Ukrainian troops launched a major counter-offensive into the Kursk region last week, marking one of the largest assaults by a foreign army on Russian territory since World War II.
Kyiv claims to have captured more than 1,100 square kilometers of Russian territory, with over 120,000 people reportedly displaced.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky affirmed that the counter-offensive in Kursk is proceeding as planned, with Ukrainian forces reinforcing their positions in the region. “Our operation is proceeding exactly as we expected,” Zelensky stated on Saturday.
On the Russian side, the Defense Ministry reported that Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed five Ukrainian drones in the Belgorod, Kursk, and Rostov regions on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces targeted another bridge in the Kursk region on Sunday. The attack aimed at a bridge over the river Seym near Zvannoye, approximately 15 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk shared an aerial video showing a significant explosion and rupture in the bridge structure. This strike follows the destruction of a separate bridge near Glushkovo late Friday.
The destruction of these bridges has reportedly hampered Russian logistical operations and supply routes in the Glushkovsky District, leaving Russian forces with limited options for crossing the river.
