Air defense was active over the Mariinsky Palace
Russian occupiers launched an aerial attack on Kyiv during a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Air defense was operational over the meeting location, reports The Guardian.
“Above the Mariinsky Palace, near the president's office, a drone (possibly a Russian decoy) was visible, and its hum could be heard. It is currently unknown whether the drone was shot down,” the British publication stated.
Keir Starmer arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit on the morning of Thursday, January 16. Shortly thereafter, it was also reported that Italy's Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto had arrived in the Ukrainian capital.
On Thursday afternoon, an air alert was declared in Kyiv due to an attack by Russian drones. The sounds of air defense operations were heard in various districts of the capital. Later, the head of the KMVA, Timur Tkachенко, reported that debris from the attack damaged a car in the Solomianskyi district and the facade of a building in the Dniprovskiy district. Fortunately, there were no casualties.