Russia strikes Kyiv again with "Iranian marches" and Ukraine bombs Luhansk with American missiles

The military administration of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, announced that the city was subjected to intense attack on Monday morning by Iranian drones used by Russian forces, while Ukrainian forces bombed Luhansk with American missiles.

The military administration of Kiev said that "the enemy is attacking the capital."

It confirmed that the Russian forces are using Iranian-made "Shahid" planes, which were used to strike the capital in recent weeks.

On Monday, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed that there had been "explosions" in the capital.

"Many explosions were heard in the Solomyansky and Shevchenkivsky districts of the capital," he said, adding that "all services are working on the ground. More details later."

Fire and explosions

Witnesses reported hearing several explosions in the city and in the area around the capital.

A Reuters witness said the attack caused a fire to break out in central Kyiv, "and the Shevchenkivsky district is often the target."

Sirens sounded most of the night in Kyiv and the surrounding area warning of air strikes, and new warnings came at 05:25 am local time.

The Ukrainian army reported that the capital, Kyiv, and a number of southern provinces were subjected to a new Russian attack by Iranian-made Shahed drones.

The army said that its air defenses shot down 30 Iranian-made Shahed drones that were launched by Russian forces towards the capital, Kyiv, and some Ukrainian provinces.

On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense says that its strikes target Ukrainian military installations and energy facilities, and at the same time impede "the transfer of weapons and ammunition of foreign manufacture."

battle fronts

For its part, the pro-Russian authorities said that Ukrainian forces bombed a village in Lugansk with HIMARS missile systems.

Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that the city center of Donetsk was subjected to a concentrated missile attack.

And Tass news agency reported that the city center was repeatedly bombed, and about 10 explosions were heard.

Yesterday, Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that its units had made progress in the Yakovlevka area near Bakhmut in Ukraine.

The ministry added - in its daily briefing - that the Russian offensive units targeted Ukrainian groups that tried to advance in areas of Zaporizhia and southern Donetsk.

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country's forces still control the city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, despite what he described as the Russians' attempts to destroy it.

Zelensky added that his country's forces are working to reduce the capabilities of Russian forces in their locations in the regions of Kherson, Zaporizhia and southern Ukraine in general, stressing that protecting his country's borders with Russia and Belarus is a constant priority for him, and that all scenarios must be prepared.

Peace horizon

In the same context, the Ukrainian President called on the countries of the world to engage in what he described as a "global peace formula" in order to unite efforts to end the war in his country.

This came in a recorded message to President Zelensky.

Zelensky called for an end to the war and the establishment of peace as a hero in the world, "as is happening today in the World Cup in Qatar," he said.

Meanwhile, the US representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, said that the decision to end the war in Ukraine rests with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

And she added - in an interview with Al-Jazeera - that US President Joe Biden is ready to talk to his Russian counterpart about a peace plan in Ukraine.

For his part, the Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, said that the United States sending Patriot air defense missile systems to Ukraine could have unpredictable consequences.

Antonov added that the United States is guided in its relations with Russia by the constant desire to prove itself, as if the ghosts of the Cold War are still roaming the corridors of Washington, as he put it.