Explosions sounded early Thursday morning in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, where military and civilian authorities urged the population to stay in shelters.

“The fall of debris was recorded in the Darnitsky district of the capital. The data on losses and damage are being specified,” the head of the Kyiv military administration, Serhiy Popko, said on Telegram, adding that air defense was “working.”

A fire broke out during a special operation in the Darnitsky district due to falling debris, and an explosion occurred in the Desnyansky district, said the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitaliy Klitschko.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the fire was caused by falling debris from downed missiles.

“The attack on the capital continues. Do not leave the shelter while the alarm is active! — he wrote in Telegram.

The new Russian airstrikes came as the Chinese ambassador is in the country’s capital as part of a diplomatic campaign to secure a “political settlement” to the armed conflict, which is due to turn fifteen months old next week.

“A series of unprecedented in its power, intensity and variety of airstrikes on Kyiv continues. This is the ninth air raid on the capital since May,” the civil and military administration of the Ukrainian capital summed up.

According to the statement, cruise missiles were fired from Russian strategic bombers flying in the Caspian Sea area, followed by reconnaissance drone flights. He assured that “all” targets in the airspace of Kyiv “have been detected and destroyed.”

Dead in Odessa.

One person died and two were injured in Odessa, a strategic Black Sea port, in an attack on an industrial facility, the regional military command said.

The military also reported firing cruise missiles in the Vinnytsia region (center), while Ukrainian media reported explosions in Khmelnytsky, about 100 kilometers to the west.

A new series of strikes was recorded during the stay in Kiev of China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs, former ambassador to Moscow Li Hui, whose goal is to discuss, according to Beijing, a “political settlement” of the conflict.

On Wednesday, Li met with the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmitry Kuleba, who “explained in detail to the Chinese special envoy the principles of establishing a lasting and just peace based on respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported. Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“He stressed that Ukraine will not accept any proposals that entail the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict,” Mr. Kuleba’s service said in a statement.

Kyiv fears it will have to compromise with Moscow and is demanding the return of all territory seized by Russia, including Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.

“Possible” meeting with Zelensky

A meeting between Mr Lee and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is “possible,” a senior Ukrainian official told AFP yesterday on condition of anonymity. It will be an unprecedented meeting between Zelensky, urging Beijing to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a senior Chinese official.

Mr. Li is also expected to visit Poland, France, Germany and France.

China, Russia’s partner, has never publicly condemned a Russian military intervention. And during a visit to Moscow in March, Chinese President Xi Jinping offered significant support to Vladimir Putin, at least on a symbolic level.

In February, Beijing released a 12-point text to end the war, which the West was skeptical of, if not rejected as not a peace plan.

Mr. Lee’s visit to Kiev follows Mr. Zelensky’s tour of Europe, during which he received promises of new arms shipments, some of which are deemed necessary for his military’s much-discussed major counter-offensive.

He has heard promises about various types of weapons – anti-aircraft missile systems, unmanned attack aircraft, armored vehicles … – and Kiev expresses satisfaction at the possibility of providing him with Western fighters, which his allies have so far been reluctant to provide. , is being discussed much more seriously.

Also yesterday, the United States confirmed that the Patriot air defense system was damaged by a Russian missile, but remained operational.

On Tuesday, the Russian military said it had destroyed the array with a “high-precision” strike by a “supersonic Kinzhal missile.”

In late 2022, Washington announced the delivery of Patriot systems capable of shooting down cruise missiles, short-range ballistic missiles and aircraft at much higher altitudes than the systems it had already sent to Kyiv.

Tonight at 22:00 Greek time, a meeting of the UN Security Council will be held to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Also on Wednesday, Moscow and Kyiv agreed to extend an agreement allowing the export of Ukrainian grain, which is critical to global food supplies, brokered by Ankara and the UN. The agreement has been extended “by two months,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Its extension is “good news for the world,” said UN Secretary General António Guterres.

The Ukrainian military said that cruise missiles had been fired in Vinnytsia (center), while the media reported that explosions were heard in Khmelnytsky, about 100 kilometers to the west.

In the early morning, air defense sirens sounded over the territory of Ukraine.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.