Ukrainian military authorities stated that in the face of large-scale threats from Russian missiles and drones, air raid alarms were issued across Ukraine on Monday morning (August 26), with explosions reported in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
According to the local media outlet “The Kyiv Independent,” air raid alarms were sounded across Ukraine before 6 a.m. this morning. The reporter from the publication heard explosions in Kyiv around 8:30 a.m., followed by several more explosions minutes later. More explosions were heard after 9:00 a.m.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that they recorded the launch of several Russian missiles and dozens of drones.
The Ukrainian military stated that Russia launched two waves of attacks on Monday morning. Initially, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that 11 Russian bombers and multiple suicide drones were heading towards various cities in the country.
Subsequently, it was reported that the Russian military launched multiple types of missiles and had six Russian bombers flying in the air. There are currently no detailed reports on casualties and damage.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated that there were power outages in “several areas” of the capital, and later added that there were water supply issues on the right bank of the city.
Shortly after 9:00 a.m., Ukraine’s largest private electricity company DTEK announced emergency power outages across Ukraine.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov mentioned that explosions were also heard in the city.
According to reports, explosions were reported in Odesa, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Kremenchuk, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Kropyvnytskyi, and Kryvyi Rih.
Kyiv Military Administration head Serhiy Popko said on Telegram that up to 10 drones were destroyed when approaching the outskirts of Kyiv on Monday morning.
Ihor Polishchuk, the mayor of Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine, stated that an apartment building in the city was damaged. He later confirmed that one person had died as a result.
Some witnesses also told Reuters that they heard several explosions earlier, which sounded like anti-aircraft systems repelling an air raid.
Russia has not immediately commented on the situation.
Both Russia and Ukraine have denied targeting civilians. Both sides have stated that the attacks aim to destroy each other’s crucial infrastructure in the war.
On Sunday (August 25), Ukrainian military and local authorities reported that Russia launched attacks in northern, eastern, and southern Ukraine, resulting in at least four deaths and 37 injuries.
Reuters reported that after the attack by Russia on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on Saturday (August 24), security consultant Ryan Evans from the Reuters interviewing team lost his life, with two journalists injured and hospitalized, one of them critically.