A Russian hypersonic missile hit the vicinity of Ukraine‘s significant Starokostiantyniv airbase on Monday morning, according to a rare admission from Kyiv, following a drone and missile assault that also affected the capital.

This latest attack on the Starokostiantyniv airfield, located in the western Khmelnytskyi region and frequently targeted by Russia, occurred just a day after the Dutch defense minister announced that the Netherlands would be providing additional F-16 jets to Ukraine in the upcoming months.

Ukraine received a shipment of F-16s this summer after extensive lobbying efforts directed at Western nations, and it maintains strict confidentiality regarding the locations of its warplanes to safeguard them from Russia’s long-range strikes throughout the conflict. The air force, which typically refrains from disclosing damage to military installations, did not confirm whether the strike inflicted any damage on the airbase, making the acknowledgment of a missile hitting the area particularly noteworthy.

Governor Serhiy Tyurin reported that there were no civilian casualties or damage to essential infrastructure. The air force confirmed that two Kinzhal missiles were intercepted in the Kyiv region. Although debris fell in three districts of Kyiv, city officials stated that there were no significant damages or injuries following the engagement of air defenses against incoming threats.

However, debris did cause damage to the roof of a multi-storey residential building and a supermarket in the Solomianskyi district, located in the western part of the city. Additionally, one piece of debris landed on school grounds, as noted by Serhiy Popko, the head of the city’s military administration.

In the central Shevchenkivskyi district, missile debris also fell in an open area, damaging a car in the southern Holosiivskyi district. Ukrainian air defenses successfully shot down 32 Russian drones, with an additional 37 drones detected as lost on military radars, indicating they may have been neutralized by electronic warfare systems, according to the air force. Since the onset of the war in February 2022, Russia has consistently conducted long-range missile strikes on Ukraine, with drone attacks occurring almost nightly.