AFP journalists heard a dozen loud explosions in Kyiv early Tuesday, after Ukraine's air force warned of the risk of a Russian ballistic missile strike on the capital.
The latest attacks came as Kyiv faces an intensifying Russian air campaign that has triggered repeated alerts, disrupted businesses and prompted stricter security protocols ahead of the new school year.
"Several targets heading towards the capital," the Ukrainian air force said on Telegram. Moments later, AFP's correspondents in Kyiv saw several flashes and heard loud explosions.
The air force had warned earlier that the threat of "ballistic weapons and other means of attack against Kyiv and the region remains in effect" and urged residents to stay in shelters.
Ukrainian children go back to school on Tuesday after their summer holidays, and the Kyiv regional military administration said there must be no large events in areas with a high level of risk.
Kyiv and surrounding areas have come under sustained pressure from Russian drone attacks in recent weeks, with jet-powered drones adding to the threat and triggering as many as a dozen air-raid alerts a day.
One weekend attack on an ammunition depot killed 38 people in the capital's suburbs.
Both sides have escalated long-range strikes in the past several months, targeting infrastructure such as warehouses, businesses, and oil and port facilities, as well as ships, increasing civilian casualties.
Ukraine faces a shortage of interceptor missiles, particularly US-made Patriot systems used against ballistic threats.
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