Russian drones attack central Kyiv, heavy fighting in east Ukraine

A view shows a street after a Russian drone strike, which local authorities consider to be Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) Shahed-136, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 17, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that there was an explosion in the city’s central Shevchenkivskyi district on Monday morning. He later reported on a second blast in the same district.

Sounds of explosions were heard in the city of Kiev on Monday morning, Ukrainian media report.

Earlier on Monday, an air raid warning was issued in the Kiev region, as well as the city of Kiev, according to the regional and city authorities.

According to Ukrainian media reports, as of 06:15 local time on Monday (03:15 GMT), air raid warnings were in effect in the Zhitomir, Vinnitsa, Cherkasy, Kirovograd, Nikolaev and Odessa regions.

Explosions were reported in various parts of Ukraine late on Sunday night, including the cities of Nikolaev and Odessa. In Nikolaev, a fire erupted at a fuel storage site after the blasts, according to Ukrainian media reports.

According to regional authorities, critical infrastructure sites were targeted in the Sumy and Dnepropetrovsk regions on Monday morning. A fire erupted at an energy infrastructure site in the Dnepropetrovsk region after the blast.

The attacks came exactly one week after Russia unleashed its heaviest aerial bombardment of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities since the start of the war - also during morning rush hour.

Russia has accused Ukraine of hitting targets in Belgorod region near the border. Pro-Russian news sources on the Telegram social media app reported that Ukraine had struck Belgorod's airport overnight. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv, which typically does not comment on incidents in Russia.

Elsewhere on Monday, renewed Russian shelling near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest, caused it to be disconnected again from Ukraine's power grid, Ukrainian state energy firm Energoatom said.

In southern central Ukraine, a large fire broke out at an energy facility in the Dnipropetrovsk region after an overnight missile hit, a local official said. Ukraine also reported strikes that set ablaze a sunflower oil terminal in the southern port of Mykolaiv.