The Ukrainian Air Force announced Thursday that it shot down 29 of the thirty cruise missiles launched by Russia in a new night attack on Kiev and other Ukrainian regions, which resulted in at least one death in Odessa, in the latest example of this type of attack launched by Russian forces since the beginning of this month. .

This ninth series of Russian missile strikes targeting the capital, Kiev, especially since the beginning of May, comes at a time when Kiev says it is finalizing its preparations to launch a large-scale counterattack to remove Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.
During this latest "night attack", Ukrainian forces succeeded in destroying "33 air targets - 29 missiles and four drones," said the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk.

The Civil and Military Administration in Kiev said that the attacks launched by Russian forces since the beginning of May were "unprecedented in their strength, intensity and diversity."

It added that Russian strategic bombers fired cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea, while reconnaissance marches flew over the capital at a later time.

And the Civil and Military Administration in Kiev said that "all enemy targets were detected and destroyed in Kiev airspace."

And the mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, announced that a fire broke out in a company after falling debris, without recording injuries.

In the Black Sea port of Odessa, one person was killed and two others wounded during an attack on an industrial site, according to a military spokesman.

The army spoke of "cruise missile" attacks in the Vinnytsia region in the center of the country, while local media reported explosions in Khmelnitsky, about 100 kilometers to the west.

These new attacks also come a day after Ukraine's grain export deal was extended by two months. This agreement is important for ensuring the maintenance of global food security.

On Thursday, the Russian authorities announced that a goods train carrying grain derailed in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, without causing casualties, at the height of a series of sabotage incidents that Moscow regularly attributes to Kiev.

For its part, the local railway authority announced in a statement that the accident was the result of "the actions of third parties," hinting at sabotage of a formula previously used when trains derailed in early May in a Russian region bordering Ukraine.

For his part, a Russian parliamentary official spoke of the explosion of an explosive device.

On the diplomatic level, the Chinese special envoy to Ukraine, Li Hui, concluded Thursday a two-day visit in Kiev to discuss a "solution" to the conflict.

"There is no magic solution to the crisis, and all parties (...) must build mutual trust and create conditions for stopping war and dialogue," Li said, according to a statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Li's visit to Kiev was part of a European tour to present Beijing's proposals to end the war.

In his talks with Ukrainian officials, including Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Li added that China "will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine within its capabilities."

Kuleba stressed that Ukraine would not accept any proposal "that would lead to the loss of its territory or the freezing of the conflict."

Li Hui will visit Poland on Friday, then Germany, France and Russia in the following days.

At the United Nations, the UN Security Council meets Thursday at 19:00 GMT to discuss the situation in Ukraine on the eve of the start of the G-7 summit in Japan, where tougher sanctions on the Russian economy will be proposed.