Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and other Ukrainian cities in the early hours of this morning, according to officials and media, who assured that air defenses took action.

Russia has been conducting a campaign of intensive missile strikes and UAV attacks since October 2022, targeting both military installations and civilian infrastructure. Today’s hits are recorded before 24 hours have passed since strike in Kherson which according to Kiev resulted in the death of 21 people.

Air defense arrays took action in the Kyiv region, the local military command said via Telegram. A Reuters reporter in the capital heard at least one loud explosion.

Ukrainian state TV network spoke of explosions in Zaporizhia. Yuriy Malasko, head of the regional military command, reported via Telegram that air defense arrays were activated there as well.

Ukrainian media also reported explosions in Odessa. Air defense warning sirens sounded in most of the eastern regions of the country.

Fire at Russian refinery after Ukrainian UAV attack

A remote-controlled drone strike caused a fire in areas where fuel is stored at a refinery in southern Russia, but emergency services were able to bring it under control and put it out about two hours later, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported today.

According to the agency, the attack targeted the Ilski refinery near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar region.

On Wednesday, a fuel storage facility caught fire near a bridge connecting the Russian mainland to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014 from Ukraine, which the international community does not recognize.

“Second hectic night for emergency services,” Krasnodar Governor Benjamin Kondratiev said via Telegram, adding that no casualties were reported in the fire. She did not specify the reasons for her event.

Ukraine has rarely publicly claimed responsibility for what Russia says are increasingly frequent UAV attacks against infrastructure and military targets, especially in areas near the two states’ borders.

Moscow blamed Kiev for an April 29 attack that set fire to a fuel storage facility in Sevastopol.

While in western Russia’s Bryansk region, two trains were derailed by explosions also attributed to drone attacks.

Ukraine’s military says it is trying to disrupt the supply of Russia’s military in preparation for a much-discussed Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory seized by Russian forces.