Russia launches missiles and drones at Ukraine, authorities say

Aug 27 - Russia launched missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight on Thursday, with the capital Kyiv and other cities coming under a massive attack, Ukrainian authorities said.

Ukraine's air force said the barrage included two Oniks anti-ship cruise missiles, 258 drones, and an unspecified number of ballistic missiles.

The air force said that nearly 90% of the drones were downed, as well as one Oniks and seven ballistic missiles.

Russia has escalated its air strikes on Ukraine  in recent months, with Kyiv short of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing ballistic missiles.

"This week, our European allies made important decisions to strengthen Ukrainian air defense," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X, calling for additional support packages.

"Everything that strengthens the protection of our skies effectively saves the lives of Ukrainians every day," Zelenskiy said.

He said this week Ukraine has recently received a small batch of the interceptors.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the massive strike targeted ports, grain storage, energy, industry, and other infrastructure.

In Kyiv, debris fell in two districts, damaging a school and shattering windows in a healthcare facility in one of them, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Explosions had earlier reverberated in the city, a Reuters witness said.

In the surrounding region, two people were injured as Russian missile and drone attacks caused a fire in warehouse premises and damaged other warehouses, as well as private houses, the regional governor said.

DRONES CROSS INTO MOLDOVA

Russia's defence ministry said Moscow hit facilities of Ukraine's military-industrial complex, metallurgical and oil-refining industries, logistics centres and infrastructure facilities at the ports in Odesa region intended to support the Ukrainian armed forces.

The attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa lasted almost all night and morning, a local official said, adding that infrastructure, an educational facility and a multi-storey building were damaged. Three people were injured in the city, the official said.

Five drones crossed into the air space of neighboring Moldova amid the attack on Ukraine, Moldova's authorities said.

In the central Poltava region, industrial businesses and an energy facility came under attack, cutting power to seven settlements, the regional governor said.

In Kryvyi Rih, a steel-and-mining hub in central Ukraine and Zelenskiy's hometown, three people were injured as two missiles hit an industrial facility. Three more people were wounded in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, officials said. REUTERS