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Russia hits Kyiv in 'exceptional' air raid

Update : 16 May 2023, 13:22

Ukrainian air defenses repelled a heavy Russian missile attack on Kyiv overnight. European leaders are gathering for a Council of Europe summit, the first one in years, to discuss the war. 

Russia launched a fresh wave of air attacks, the eighth in May, on the Ukrainian capital early on Tuesday.

Ukrainian officials said defense systems had shot down objects over several districts of Kyiv.

The night attack was complex, with drones, cruise and likely ballistic missiles launched from different directions, Kyiv officials said.

"It was exceptional in its density: the maximum number of attack missiles in the shortest period of time," Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's city military administration, said in comments posted on the Telegram messaging app.

"According to preliminary information, the vast majority of enemy targets in the airspace of Kyiv were detected and destroyed!" he added. 

It was not immediately known how many objects were shot down over the city and if any of them managed to hit their target. It was also not clear whether it was a missile or a drone attack.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said falling debris set several cars on fire and damaged a building in the Solomyanskyi district in the capital's west, which appeared to be the hardest hit. Three people were injured.

Two cars caught fire in the city's southeastern Darnytskyi district, he added. Debris also fell on the city's zoo in the Shevchenkivskyi district.

Kyiv's military administration said falling debris was reported in the capital's Obolonskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Solomyanskyi and Darnytskyi districts.

After a weekslong hiatus, Russia in late April resumed its tactic of long-range missile strikes and has launched a flurry of attacks in recent days, often targeting Kyiv.

Nearly all of Ukraine was under air raid alerts in early hours of Tuesday.

The latest attacks came just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned from a Europe trip aimed at securing new weapons for a counteroffensive against Russia.

European leaders gather for Council of Europe summit for the first time in years
European leaders are gathering in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, for a two-day summit on the war in Ukraine. 

The meeting, called by the Council of Europe, is the first one to be held by the organization in nearly two decades.

The Strasbourg-based organization doesn't have the same high-stakes profile as the European Union, but it has been a guardian of human rights and the rule of law on the continent.

German Chancellor Olaf Sholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are among leaders expected to attend the summit.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and officials from the UN will also attend the gathering.

The Council of Europe was founded in 1949 and has 46 members, including Turkey, Ukraine and the UK. 

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