Ukrainian authority reports Russian missile attack on Kyiv

A series of explosions rocked Kyiv on Saturday morning and minutes later air raid sirens started to wail as an apparent missile attack on the Ukrainian capital was underwayCritical infrastructure in Kyiv was targeted the deputy head of Ukraines presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on TelegramAn unidentified infrastructure object was hit in the city and emergency services were operating at the site of the strike Kyivs city military administration said Explosions were heard in the Dniprovskyi district of the city Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said Klitschko also said that fragments of a missile fell on a nonresidential area in the Holosiivskyi district and a fire broke out in a building there No casualties have been reported so farIt wasnt immediately clear whether several facilities in Kyiv were targeted or just the one that was reported hit The Ukrainian capital hasnt been attacked with missiles since New Years night Jan 1In the outlying Kyiv region a residential building in the village of Kopyliv was hit and windows of the houses nearby were blown out Tymoshenko saidA total of 18 private houses were damaged in the region according to regional Gov Oleksii Kuleba There are damaged roofs and windows but no casualties Kuleba said in a Telegram post He added that a fire has been contained at a critical infrastructure facility in the regionAlso read Want talks with Ukrainersquos human rights chiefs RussiaEarlier on Saturday two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv Ukraines secondlargest city the governor of the Kharkiv region reportedOleh Syniehubov said Russian forces fired two S300 missiles at the industrial district of Kharkiv The strikes targeted energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the outlying region Syniehubov said No casualties have been reported but emergency power cuts in the city and other settlements of the region were possible the official saidThe attacks come amid conflicting reports on the fate of the fiercely contested salt mining town of Soledar in Ukraines embattled east Russia claims that its forces have captured the town a development that would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after a series of humiliating setbacks on the battlefieldUkrainian authorities and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insist the fight for Soledar continuesMoscow has painted the battle for the town and the nearby city of Bakhmut as key to capturing the eastern region of the Donbas which comprises of partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions and as a way to grind down the best Ukrainian forces and prevent them from launching counterattacks elsewhereBut that cuts both ways as Ukraine says its fierce defense of the eastern strongholds has helped tie up Russian forces Western officials and analysts say the two towns importance is more symbolic than strategicThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever