Russian strikes thwarted, wreckage hits buildings: Ukraine

The Kremlin claims Ukraine was responsible for an attack last week on a military base in the Ryazan region of western Russia

Ukrainian authorities said they thwarted a Russian attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region on December 14 as their air defence system intercepted and destroyed 13 explosive-laden drones, although wreckage from some of them damaged five buildings.

No casualties were reported.

The attempted strikes underlined how vulnerable Ukraine's capital remains to the regular Russian attacks that have devastated infrastructure and population centres in recent weeks, mostly in the country's east and south.

But they also highlighted Ukraine's claims of increasing efficiency in intercepting weapons - something that Patriot missiles from the U.S. may soon help boost.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a brief video statement, said the “terrorists” fired 13 Iranian-made drones, and all were intercepted.

Also Read | Donors meet in Paris to get Ukraine through winter, bombing

Such drones have been part of the firepower, along with rockets, missiles, shelling mortars and artillery, as Russia targets power stations, water facilities and other public utility sites.