Ukraine says it shot down two missiles and 60 drones during Russia's nighttime attack

Ukraine said it shot down two missiles and 60 drones across nine regions in a nighttime attack after Russia stepped up its attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure earlier this week.

More than two and a half years after Russia's large-scale invasion, Kyiv is pressing the West for additional air defenses and assistance in jointly firing targets over Ukraine to deter such attacks.

On Thursday, Ukraine destroyed 60 of 74 combat drones and two of five missiles launched by Russia. The Air Force said it lost 14 more drones that likely crashed on Ukrainian territory.

About 15 drones launched by Russia in its third attack on the Ukrainian capital within four days failed to reach their targets, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration, said on Thursday.

Drone debris damaged the windows and doors of a residential building and caused a fire in a non-residential building that was extinguished, Popko said in a statement following recent Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, most of which occurred overnight.

Kyiv Region Governor Ruslan Kravchenko said the drones did not cause damage to critical infrastructure in Kyiv region, and city and regional authorities reported no casualties.

Falling debris also caused a fire on the premises of a private company in the central Russian region of Cherkasy, the regional governor said.

About 75 rescue workers fought the fire, which had spread over an area of ​​2,700 square meters by Thursday morning, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said.

Russia, which began its large-scale invasion in February 2022, attacked energy facilities across Ukraine on Monday in airstrikes that Ukrainian officials said involved more than 200 missiles and drones.

The renewed attack on the power grid forced Kyiv to resort to emergency and planned power outages this week to stabilize the system.