Russian 'kamikaze' drones hit Kyiv, Putin arrives in ally Belarus

(Reuters) - Moscow launched a "kamikaze" drone attack on Monday (19), hitting key infrastructure in and around Kyiv, hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Belarus, fuelling fears he will pressure his ally to join a new offensive on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defences shot down 30 drones, in 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.

Officials said at least three people were wounded and nine buildings damaged in the Kyiv region.

The Ukrainian atomic energy agency accused Russia of sending one of the drones over part of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, in the Mykolaiv region.

"This is an absolutely unacceptable violation of nuclear and radiation safety," Energoatom wrote on Telegram.

Invading Russian forces currently occupy the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest, near the front line in southeastern Ukraine.

"Kamikaze" drones used in the attacks, 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 an energy facility in the often targeted central Shevchenkivskyi district, a Reuters witness said.