Ukraine war: Russia launches ninth missile attack on Kyiv this month

May 18: Ukraine's capital Kyiv has been attacked from the air by Russia for the ninth time this month.

One person has been killed and two more wounded in a missile strike on Odesa, a Black Sea port city in the southwest, officials say.

Blasts were also heard in the central regions of Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky and Zhytomyr.

Kyiv's military administration said preliminary information indicated all incoming missiles had been destroyed.

This is the ninth time Russia has launched aerial strikes on the city this month. On Tuesday, Ukraine said it had shot down six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles as part of an "exceptionally dense" attack.

Speaking before the all-clear was given, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a fire had broken out in a garage in the Darnytsya area of Kyiv, but added no one had been injured.

The head of Kyiv's civilian-military administration said a heavy missile attack had been launched from Russian strategic bombers over the Caspian Sea.

Serhiy Popko said the attack probably included cruise missiles, adding that Russia had deployed reconnaissance drones over Kyiv after unleashing its wave of air strikes.

He said a second fire had broken out in a non-residential building in Kyiv's eastern Desnyansky district, but did not give an update on if anyone was hurt.

At least eight people were reportedly killed - including a five-year-old boy near Kherson - and 17 were injured by shelling on Wednesday, as both sides traded accusations of striking civilian areas.

(BBC)