THREAT FROM ABOVE
Russia warns the West is ‘playing with fire’ as it unleashes biggest drone attack since start of Ukraine invasion
RUSSIA has issued a stark warning to the West saying it is 'playing with fire' after it agreed to provide Ukraine with F16 fighter jets.
The warning comes after Vladimir Putin's forces unleashed a heavy air strike on Kyiv that was described as the largest drone attack since the start of the war.
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The hit was followed by another attack in the capital this morning.
Speaking in a TV interview, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that Western countries were "playing with fire" by agreeing to provide Ukraine with "game-changing" F-16 fighter jets.
He described the move as an "unacceptable escalation" of the war and said: "It's playing with fire, without a doubt".
Lavrov denounced it as an attempt to "weaken Russia by "Washington, London and their satellites in the EU."
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Kyiv was rocked by explosions today just hours after Russian forces launched dozens of missiles and drones on targets across the country, sending panicked locals running for shelter.
Heart-breaking footage shows terrified children screaming as they ran for their lives to the nearest bomb shelter.
Russia struck with unmanned aerial vehicles and Kh-101/555 missiles, reports suggested.
Sunday's hit was described as the largest drone attack in the city since the start of the war, by local officials.
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The attack lasted more than five hours, with air defence shooting down 58 of the 59 launched drones.
The strike happened when the capital celebrates the anniversary of the city's founding, Kyiv Day and left one person dead.
This morning the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said there were explosions in the capital's central districts and that emergency services had been dispatched before urging residents to stay in shelters.
He posted on Telegram: "Emergency services have responded to a call near the centre of the capital. The attack on Kyiv continues. Don't leave the shelters!"
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ihnat, said the attack had been conducted with ballistic missiles - thought to be Iskanders - and possibly also S-300 and S-400 missiles.
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The city's military administration said Ukrainian air defences shot down all missiles fired at Kyiv and that no targets were hit.
The air attack followed hours after overnight missile and drone strikes and was the 16th in Kyiv this month, it said.
Ukrainian officials said the attack put five aircraft out of action on a military target in western Ukraine and caused a fire at the Black Sea port of Odesa.
Ukrainian officials said the attack put five aircraft out of action on a military target in western Ukraine and caused a fire at the Black Sea port of Odesa.
Authorities said work was underway in the region of Khmelnitskiy to restore a runway and five aircraft were taken out of service.
"At the moment, work is continuing to contain fires in storage facilities for fuel and lubricants and munitions," the Khmelnitskiy region governor's office said.
Ukraine's military said the attack on Odesa port had caused a fire and damaged infrastructure.
"A fire broke out in the port infrastructure of Odesa as a result of the hit. It was quickly extinguished. Information on the extent of the damage is being updated," the military's southern command said on Facebook.
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The attacks were part of a fresh wave of air strikes in Ukraine this month as Kyiv is preparing for a counteroffensive to reclaim territory seized by Moscow.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defense shared a trailer on Sunday promising to destroy the country's enemies and vowed to avenge "the murder of our brothers and the rape of our sisters."
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