Russian forces target central Kyiv in rare daytime attack

Ukrainian air force describes the rush hour barrage as an 'unusual' attack of 'various types of strike drones,' adding that its air defence units downed 194 Russian drones

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Drone debris crashed onto the historic Maidan square in central Kyiv early on Monday as explosions echoed out during a rare daytime Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital, journalists reported.

The Ukrainian air force described the rush hour barrage as an "unusual" attack of "various types of strike drones," adding that its air defence units had downed 194 Russian drones out of 211 launched overnight and into Monday.

Three people were killed in the attacks overnight, local authorities announced - one in the Zaporizhzhia region and two more in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Journalists saw charred drone remains and blackened slabs of the square in central Kyiv where pro-democracy demonstrations more than a decade ago led to the pro-Kremlin government's ouster and precipitated the invasion.

There was no immediate official comment from officials in Kyiv on what type of drone had fallen on Maidan.

Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv also came under bombardment, officials said, adding that three people were wounded and transport infrastructure was damaged.