KYIV (Reuters) - Moscow launched a "kamikaze" drone attack on Monday, hitting key infrastructure in and around Kyiv, as Russian president Vladimir Putin heads for Belarus, fuelling fears he will pressure his ex-Soviet ally to join a new offensive on Ukraine.
Belarus allowed its territory to be used as a launch pad for Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, but has not joined the fighting directly.
"Protecting our border, both with Russia and Belarus - is our constant priority," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after a meeting on Sunday of Ukraine's top military command. "We are preparing for all possible defence scenarios."
Putin heads for Belarus for his first visit in 3-1/2 years with the Kremlin describing it as a broad "working visit" and talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Lukashenko has said repeatedly he has no intention of sending his country's troops into Ukraine. But Ukrainian officials have warned for months that Belarus could again serve as a base for a ground attack on Kyiv.Russian troops that moved to Belarus in October will conduct battalion tactical exercises, the Russian Interfax news agency reported, citing the Russian defence ministry.It was not immediately clear when they would start.The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defences shot down 30 "kamikaze" drones, the third Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital in six days and the latest in a series of assaults since October that have targeted the Ukrainian power grid, causing sweeping blackouts amid sub-freezing temperatures.
Kyiv's mayor said no one had died or been wounded in the attacks on Kyiv that rocked the capital's Solomianskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts, according to preliminary information.
"Kamikaze" drones are cheaply produced, disposable unmanned aircraft that fly towards their target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact.
Under the darkness of night, a fire raged at one site at an energy facility in the often targeted central Shevchenkivskyi district, a Reuters witness said.
"I heard an explosion. And in three or four minutes I heard another explosion," said an old man who works at a guard at a nearby hospital.
The Solomianskyi district in the western part of Kyiv is a busy transport hub, home to a train station and one of the city's two passenger airports.
Kyiv officials said 18 out of 23 drones were shot down over the city of 3.6 million.
"As a result of the attack on the capital, critical infrastructure facilities were damaged," Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.
"Energy and heating engineers are working to quickly stabilise the situation with energy and heat supply."