Kyiv comes under air attack

KYIV, Nov 11 (Reuters): Ukraine's capital Kyiv came under air attack on Saturday and big explosions were heard, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said, but there was no immediate information on if there were any casualties.

It was the first attack on Kyiv since late September. "Strong explosions were heard on the left bank of the capital," Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app, referring to the left bank of the river Dnipro.

"Preliminary, air defence was working against ballistic (missiles)." Air alerts for Kyiv and a nearby region were announced just minutes before the explosions were heard. City authorities urged residents to stay in shelters.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian naval drones sank two small Russian landing boats in Crimea, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said on Friday, while troops braced for further Russian assaults in the east, particularly the shattered town of Avdiivka.

Reuters could not independently verify the report of the attack on Vuzka Bay in the west of Crimea, which one Ukrainian military analyst said was a significant strike and loss for Russia.

There was no immediate comment by Russia, which seized and annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and whose Black Sea Fleet is headquartered in the Crimean city of Sevastopol.

An initial report from Ukraine's military intelligence said the two small, amphibious Russian ships had been hit overnight.

A Friday evening update said the attack had been carried out by naval drones. It identified one landing craft as an Akula class vessel, the other a Serna class.

"The results of intelligence conducted on 10th November 2023 near Vuzka Bay in temporarily occupied Crimea show that after an attack by naval drones, two small Russian landing ships have been destroyed," the report said.

"As a consequence of the attack, both vessels went to the bottom, the Akula straight away and the Serna after attempts to save it."

The Ukrainian military said the vessels were crewed, and loaded with armoured vehicles.