Ukrainian air defence forces shot down at least one Russian missile over Kyiv on Friday, a rare mid-morning assault on the Ukrainian capital.

The Ukrainian Air Force warned just before 10am local time that at least one Kinzhal hypersonic missile had been fired from a MIG-31 fighter jet, directed at the capital. Nearly as soon as the air-raid alarm sounded, the white trail of an air defence missile could be seen streaking through the sky.

Debris from a downed missile fell around a children’s hospital, according to Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration. He said in a statement that there was no immediate information about victims or destruction. The details could not immediately be independently verified.

The morning assault on the capital — with air-raid alarms blaring as people headed to work on a sunny summer day only to dash into train stations and basement shelters for cover — came after a brief period of relative calm in Kyiv, as Russian forces have been directing their most expensive missiles at other areas that are less well-defended.

Ukraine’s complex air-defence network has become increasingly adept at intercepting Russian missile and drone attacks. But even successful interceptions pose a danger — falling debris has killed several people and caused extensive damage.

Child killed

A Russian missile strike crashed into the grounds of a house in the western Ukrainian region of Ivano-Frankivsk on Friday, killing an eight-year-old boy, the governor and state prosecutors said.

“There are wounded (people) including a child who was brought to hospital in critical condition. Medics did everything possible, but unfortunately, the child’s life could not be saved,” governor Svitlana Onyshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Airspace closed

The airspace over two Russian airports was temporarily closed on Friday, with all arrivals and departures suspended, in a move that the RIA state news agency said was caused by suspected drone flights.

The airspace over Moscow’s Vnukovo airport and over Kaluga airport, some 150km southwest of the Russian capital, later reopened, TASS news agency reported.

“From 10.50am, the restrictions on flights were removed. At the current time the airport is working normally,” TASS quoted a source at Vnukovo airport as saying.

Earlier, the airport had said it was compelled to suspend all flights “for reasons beyond the control of the airport”, adding that some flights had been redirected to other airports in the Moscow region. It gave no further information.

Moscow’s mayor later said a drone had been shot down over the Russian capital. It was not immediately clear if this was linked to the closure of the airports.

Drone air strikes deep inside Russia have increased since a drone was destroyed over the Kremlin in early May. Civilian areas of the capital were hit later in May and a Moscow business district was targeted twice in three days earlier this month.

New York Times News Service and Reuters