Russia’s armed forces launched in the early hours of today air raid on Kyiv which Ukrainian officials described as “extremely” intense, with drones, cruise missiles and possibly, according to the same sources, ballistic missiles.

This is the eighth such raid against the Ukrainian capital this month.

It was “excellent in its density,” including “the maximum number of missiles in the shortest period of time,” Serhiy Popko, head of Kiev’s military command, said via Telegram.

He assured, citing “first information”, that “the vast majority” of “targets in Kyiv’s airspace were identified and destroyed”.

Ukrainian authorities have not made it clear how many UAVs or missiles were shot down, or whether or how many hit their targets.

After a lull of several weeks, Russia resumed long-range missile strikes in late April, and such strikes have increased recently, often targeting facilities in the Kiev region. The Ukrainian authorities assure that they have repelled the vast majority of Russian attacks.

Today the authorities spoke of debris falling in the districts of Obolonsky, Shevchenkivskyi, Solomyanskyi and Darnytskyi.

According to Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, debris caused cars to catch fire and damage to a building in the Solomiansky district (west). Three people were injured.

Still according to Mr Klitschko, air defense systems repelled an attack by kamikaze drones in Boryspil, a suburb south-east of Kiev, home to the capital’s main airport, which remains closed for the time being.

According to the military administration of Kyiv, the damage in other areas is not great and there are no reports of casualties.

Air defense sirens were heard across almost the entire Ukrainian territory in the early hours of today for more than three hours. It is not known if there are any casualties in other regions besides Kyiv.