The clash in the sky over Kyiv took place overnight, Ukraine's state news agency Ukrinform reported.
"Unmanned aerial vehicles were detected in the airspace. Air defense forces are engaging their targets," the Kyiv Regional Military Administration wrote on the Telegram social messaging app.
Officials urged residents to "remain in shelters and other safe places, as well as to observe silence on social media - not to record or post the results of air defence work," the Ukrinform news agency reported.
During the night, an air raid alert was declared in the Kyiv region, as well as in the central Cherkasy province and the northeastern Chernihiv region, "due to the threat of one-way attack drones," according to officials.
In all, Russia fired five UAVs against Ukraine in the early hours of Friday, and Ukrainian air defences brought down four of them, the General Staff in Kyiv said.
Ukraine continues counteroffensive against Russia
Ukrainian forces are continuing their counteroffensive push against Russia's invading army in the eastern Donetsk region and the southeastern Zaporizhzhia province, the General Staff in Kyiv reported on Friday morning.
Ukrainian troops continued to inflict losses in manpower and military hardware on the Russian army near the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk, consolidating their new positions, according to Ukraine's commanders.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are also continuing their counteroffensive operation towards the port of Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia, causing Russia to lose manpower and equipment, and exhausting Russian forces along the entire frontline, the General Staff in Kyiv said.
Ukrainian forces are also stepping up efforts to reach the Russian-held eastern bank of the Dnipro river in the southern Kherson region, The Kyiv Independent reported.
These renewed assaults, reportedly using heavy armour, could mean Ukraine is getting closer to opening a new front in the south, according to the website.
Overall, Ukrainian and Russian forces on Thursday clashed in 69 combat engagements, the General Staff in Kyiv said.
As part of its latest counteroffensive against Russia, Ukraine is pushing through Zaporizhzhia in the southeast, in a bid to reach the port of Melitopol on the Sea of Azov, as well as aiming to retake Bakhmut in the east, among other objectives.
Friday is day 625 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
(pm/gs)
Source: The Kyiv Independent, Ukrinform, ISW, facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua
