New air strikes hit Kiev and several regions of Ukraine
New airstrikes hit Kiev and several regions of Ukraine at dawn on Thursday, at a time when a Chinese envoy is in the Ukrainian capital to try to achieve a "political settlement" of the conflict, reports France Presse, cited by Agerpres.
"A series of air strikes on Kiev - unprecedented in their strength, intensity and variety - continues. This is the ninth consecutive airstrike on the capital since the beginning of May," Kiev's civil and military administration said in a statement.
According to it, cruise missiles were launched by Russian strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea region and reconnaissance drones then flew over the capital.
"All enemy targets in Kiev's airspace were detected and destroyed," the authorities said.
A fire broke out in a garage in the Darnitsa district following the fall of missile fragments, with no casualties, the Ukrainian capital's mayor, Vitali Klicko, said on Telegram, as quoted by Reuters.
The head of Kiev's military administration, Serhii Popko, said on Telegram that a fire broke out in non-residential premises in the Desnianski district on the left bank of the Dnieper River, which cuts the Ukrainian capital in two. He did not provide information on possible casualties.
One person was killed and two others wounded in the Black Sea port of Odessa during an attack on an industrial site, according to the regional military administration.
The military reported "cruise missile" attacks in the Vinnitsa region in the centre of the country, while local media reported explosions in Hmelnitski, 100 kilometres to the west.
The new attacks come as a senior Chinese official, Li Hui, special representative for Eurasian affairs and former ambassador to Moscow, is in Kiev to discuss - according to Beijing - "political settlement" of the conflict.
Li Hui met Ukrainian diplomatic chief Dmitro Kuleba on Wednesday, who "explained to him in detail the principles of restoring a lasting and just peace based on respect for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
Kuleba "stressed that Ukraine will not accept any proposal that would imply loss of territory or a freeze on the conflict," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
