TOP HEADLINES

· Drones attacked Kyiv days after the Ukrainian capital withstood one of the biggest missile attacks since the start of the conflict. "During the air alert, 23 enemy Unmanned Aerial Vehicles were recorded in the sky above the capital. Air defense destroyed 18 drones," the Kyiv city military administration said on social media. READ MORE BELOW

· Ukrainian energy operator Ukrenergo said emergency shutdowns would be applied in the capital Kyiv and 10 other regions following a barrage of drone strikes from Russia. "Schedules for emergency shutdowns have been initiated in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovograd, Zhytomyr, Chernigiv, Cherkasy and Kyiv regions and in the city of Kyiv," Ukrenergo said in a statement.

· Ukraine said Russian shelling targeted the southern city of Kherson, which has been faced repeated attacks since Kyiv's forces recaptured it last month. "Another blow was delivered to the city center. Three people were injured. They received shrapnel wounds, one wounded is in a serious condition," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the President's office, said on social media. 

· Strikes on the Russian region of Belgorod that borders Ukraine killed one person and injured several others, the regional governor said. Air defense systems were operating over the region, with strikes targeting the regional capital and a surrounding district, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on social media.

· Russian troops will conduct military exercises in Belarus, which neighbors Ukraine, the Interfax news agency said, citing the defense ministry in Moscow. "The final assessment of the combat capability and combat readiness of the units will be given... after the battalion tactical exercises have been conducted," Interfax quoted the ministry as saying.

· UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce a major new artillery package for Ukraine during a meeting of Nordic, Baltic and Dutch counterparts in Riga. Sunak will arrive in Latvia on Monday for the meeting to discuss ongoing efforts to counter Russian aggression in the Nordic and Baltic region with fellow members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).

· The Russian rouble slumped to a new six-month low, past 66 roubles per US dollar, hurt by relatively low oil prices and fears that sanctions on Russian oil could crimp the country's export revenues. 

· Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Belarus, fueling Ukrainian fears he intends to pressure his ally to join a new offensive. The Kremlin described it as a broad "working visit" for talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. 

· "Protecting our border, both with Russia and Belarus, is our constant priority," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after a meeting of Ukraine's top military command. "We are preparing for all possible defense scenarios." 

IN DETAIL

Explosions 'confirmed' and critical infrastructure 'damaged' in Kyiv

Drones attacked Kyiv days after the Ukrainian capital withstood one of the biggest missile attacks since the start of Russia's offensive in February. 

The latest strikes came as Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Belarus, Ukraine's noprthern neighbor, where Moscow's troops stationed as part of a regional force are due to hold military exercises.

"During the air alert, 23 enemy Unmanned Aerial Vehicles were recorded in the sky above the capital. Air defense destroyed 18 drones," the Kyiv city military administration said on social media. 

It added that the Russian forces were using barrage ammunition from "Shaheds," Iranian-made weapons that have pummeled the capital in recent weeks.

Kyiv's civil administration announced an initial air alert at 1:56 a.m. (23:56 GMT) which lasted for just over three hours. A second siren at 5:24 a.m. (03:24 GMT) was called off within half an hour.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that "explosions" had occurred in the capital's central Shevchenkivskyi and the Solomianskyi district in the west.

He said critical infrastructure facilities were "damaged" but there were no known casualties. 

Ukrainian energy operator DTEK said emergency power cuts will be carried out in the capital following the attack.