The Ukrainian capital were under a heavy Russian attacks from several directions with reports of casualties and damage

Ukrainian air defenses were launched before dawn on Tuesday to repel a new complex attack with drones and missiles on Kiev, the day after President Volodymyr Zelensky returned from a tour in Europe.

“The enemy launched a complex attack from several directions simultaneously, using marches, cruise missiles and possibly ballistic missiles,” the Ukrainian military authority in Kiev announced in a statement on Telegram.

“The attack was exceptional in its intensity, during which a maximum number of missiles were fired in a very short period… According to the first information, the vast majority of hostile targets were detected in the skies over Kiev and destroyed”.

Prior to that, the mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, reported via Telegram that the city’s air defenses had been activated and pointed to the wreckage of a drone and missile remnants in the Darnitsky district in the south of the city.

“Three people were injured in the Solomyansky district,” he added.

This new night attack comes the day after Zelensky returned to Kiev after a European tour during which he visited Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

“I am returning to my country with new powerful weapons for the front,” Zelensky said in a video message.

The tour of the Ukrainian President continued for three days in the United Kingdom, where he received pledges to supply his country with air defense missiles, and he expressed optimism that Kiev could supply more combat aircraft in the future.

Zelensky’s visit to the British capital came after his visits to Rome, Berlin and Paris, and at a time when Ukraine announced that it had achieved the first success in its attack in the vicinity of Bakhmut, where the battles have been concentrated for months and have been mostly in the hands of the Russians.

However, the time for the counter-attack, which was announced to be imminent, hasn’t yet come, according to Zelensky, who confirmed the preparation for the operations, stressing on the other hand that Kiev needs more time, after his meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The British government pledged to supply Kiev with hundreds of surface-to-air defensive missiles in the coming months, and long-range offensive drones (200 kilometers).

This equipment is in addition to the “Storm Shadow” cruise missiles, which Britain pledged last week to deliver to Kiev, to be the first that Ukraine has requested in months to strike targets far from the front line.

The Russian army confirmed on Monday that it had shot down a missile of this type.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that increased British aid would cause more destruction but won’t have a significant impact on the course of the conflict.

The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stressed that the British assistance is long-term, noting that London will play a key role in the coalition that Kiev is seeking to provide it with fighter jets.

“I think it will happen very soon, and you will know about decisions that I think are very important,” Zelensky said, adding that he was very optimistic.

Zelensky didn’t receive a response from the leaders of Italy, Germany, Italy and France to his urgent request for fighter jets, but London will train Ukrainian pilots this summer.

On Monday evening, the French President announced that he had opened the door to training Ukrainian pilots from now on, the day after his meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Paris.

Macron said during an interview on TF1, “This matter is with several European countries that are ready… I think that there are ongoing discussions with the Americans, considering that discussing the possibility of Kiev handing over fighters in the future will be a theoretical discussion”.