Russia bombards Ukraine in early-morning air raids

Most of the 18 missiles shot down as Moscow prepares for Kyiv's expected counter-attack

A man leaves his damaged apartment after a Russian missile attack last week in Uman, Cherkasy region. Reuters

Russia launched a series of pre-dawn missile and artillery strikes on Ukraine on Monday morning in a renewal of aerial attacks on its neighbour.

One person was killed in the Kherson area, while 34 were injured in the central Dnipropetrovsk region.

Ukrainian air defence crews shot down 15 out of 18 cruise missiles that had been fired from planes, officials said.

“Around 2.30am (1130 GMT), the Russian invaders attacked Ukraine from strategic aviation planes,” read a post on the Telegram channel of Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces.

Shelling wounded 34 people in the Dnipropetrovsk region and dozens of buildings were damaged in the city of Pavlohrad.

The Kherson region was also heavily hit by Russian bombardment.

“Over the past day, the enemy carried out 39 shellings, firing 163 shells from heavy artillery, Grads, UAVs and aviation. The enemy shelled the city of Kherson eight times,” said Oleksandr Prokudin, of the military administration for Kherson, in Ukraine's south.

“As a result of Russian aggression, one person died and three others, including a child, were injured.”

Kyiv city officials wrote on Telegram that all missiles directed at the capital were destroyed in what they said was the second attack on the city in three days.

Russia says recent strikes are designed to hamper Kyiv's plans for a long-intended counteroffensive in the east.

On Friday, at least 23 people were killed after Russian missiles hit residential targets in Uman.

Most of them died when two missiles slammed into an apartment building. Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said six children were among the dead.

Russian train leaves tracks after blast

Meanwhile, an explosion in a Russian region bordering Ukraine derailed a freight train on Monday, the local governor said in a social media post. There were no casualties, he added.

Pictures shared on social media showed several carriages on their side and dark grey smoke billowing into the air at the site of the derailment in the Bryansk region.

National operator Russian Railways said the train left the tracks at 10.17 Moscow time (0717 GMT). It said seven freight wagons were derailed and the train burst into flames.

“An unidentified explosive device went off at the 136km mark on the Bryansk-Unecha railway line, derailing a freight train,” Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said in a post on his Telegram channel.

Russian authorities say the region — which borders Ukraine and Belarus — has been under several attacks from pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups in the past 14 months.

On Saturday, Mr Bogomaz said four civilians were killed after Ukraine shelled a village about 60km north of Russia's border with Ukraine.

Elsewhere, a Ukrainian general claimed his troops ousted Russian forces from positions in the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut, but were still encountering problems.

“The situation is quite difficult,” said Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of ground forces, in a statement on Telegram.

Mr Syrskyi made the remarks while visiting frontline troops on Sunday, the military said.

He said new Russian units, including paratroopers and fighters from the Wagner mercenary group, were being “constantly thrown into battle” despite taking heavy losses.

“But the enemy is unable to take control of the city,” he added.

Russian forces have steadily made incremental gains in Bakhmut but a Ukrainian military spokesman on Sunday said it was still possible to supply the defenders with food, ammunition and medicine.

Ukraine on Monday said its forces had repelled more than 36 enemy attacks on the part of the eastern front line that stretches from Bakhmut to Maryinka, to the west of Donetsk.