(Dan Tri) – This morning, May 8, for the second time in a row, Ukraine issued a red alert across the country due to the danger from a series of missiles launched from MiG-31K and Tu-1 aircraft.
Russia’s MiG-31K fighter and Kinzhal hypersonic missile (Illustration: War Zone).
Ukrainska Pravda reported that early this morning local time, Ukrainian air defense continued to sound air defense alarms across the country after detecting Russia’s MiG-31K taking off for the second time.
The warning read: `MiG-31K has been recorded taking off. Do not ignore the air attack signal!`.
Previously, Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers conducted an air raid on Ukraine.
According to information from the Ukrainian military, a missile appeared in the country’s airspace at 3:59 a.m. local time this morning in the Belopolye area of the Sumy region, heading southwest.
At 4:02 a.m., a cruise missile was detected from the south of the Nikolaev region in the direction of the Kirovograd region.
At 4:06 a.m., the alert called on Mirgorod residents to take shelter.
Then, consecutively from 4:10 a.m. to 4:19 a.m., cruise missile warnings appeared in turn in Kropyvnytskyi, Nikolaev, Krivoy Rog, Cherkasy, Sumy, and Poltava.
At 4:23 a.m., the missile from Kamenka changed direction toward the Kiev region.
From 4:25 a.m. to 5:20 a.m., a series of warnings appeared in Kirovograd, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Lubny, Poltava, Cherkasy, Dnieper, Kiev, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lvov.
It was not until 6:05 a.m. that the air defense alarm ended.
Kyiv Independent reported that Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukrainian cities in the early morning of May 8.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said energy infrastructure was attacked in the provinces of Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhia, Lvov, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsia.
Regional Governor Filip Pronin said on Telegram that the extent of the damage was unknown, however, in Poltava, Russian UAVs attacked an important infrastructure, causing a fire.
Residents also said they heard an explosion in Kiev at around 5:30 a.m. local time.
In the town of Brovary in Kiev, a fire broke out at a civilian facility due to a Russian missile strike, Mayor Igor Sapozhko said.
The attacks began at around 4:30 a.m. with multiple explosions reported in Zaporizhia, Ivano-Frankivsk and Poltava oblasts.
Ukrainian air defense forces have been active across all regions of Ukraine, including in Kiev and as far west as the city of Lvov.
As of 6:30 a.m., the Kiev City Military Administration said they had shot down all missiles launched at the capital.
In response to the Russian attack, the Polish Air Force said it, along with allied forces, dispatched aircraft to protect Polish airspace.
`This morning, Russian long-range air force activity was detected, related to attacks on targets located on Ukrainian territory,` the Polish Air Force announced.
Russian missile and drone attacks have increased in frequency and intensity in recent months.
Kiev officials have warned that Russia is preparing for an expected summer attack, with Ukraine’s air defenses and ammunition running low.
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