Ukraine says it downs four missiles, 15 Russia-launched drones

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KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine’s air defence shot down two Iskander-M or KN-23 ballistic missiles, two cruise Kh-59 cruise missiles and 15 attack drones that Russia launched overnight, it said on Tuesday on the Telegram messaging app.

Several explosions rang out in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv late on Monday, Reuters witnesses said, after an air raid siren sounded, but authorities said air defence units had intercepted incoming missiles.

Russia had launched in total four Iskander-M or KN-23 ballistic missiles, the Ukraine air force said, without saying what happened to the two missiles that were not destroyed.

Ruslan Kravchenko, Kyiv regional governor, reported no direct hits to residential or critical infrastructure.

The debris damaged windows in an apartment building, an office building and two gas stations in the region, he said.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military authorities, said that, according to preliminary reports, there was no damage or casualties.

Ukrainian air defence units were operating in the city and in the surrounding Kyiv region, authorities in Kyiv said in statements on the Telegram messaging app.

The governor of the southern region of Mykolaiv said that the air force destroyed 13 Shahed drones over his region.

The attack caused three fires which have since been put out. It also damaged three residential buildings, a recreation centre, and a utility building.

(Reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv, and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Writing by Tom Balmforth and Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Chris Reese, Ron Popeski, Marguerita Choy and Michael Perry)