KYIV: On Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities reported explosions in the capital, Kyiv, saying two administrative buildings were hit in a downtown district with many government buildings.

Municipal teams were deployed following the blasts, according to Vitali Klitschko's post on Telegram, and officials said the attack used Iranian-made Shahed drones, similar to those used in other Russian strikes in Ukraine.

A drone's shrapnel damaged two administrative buildings in Kyiv's central Shevchenkyvskyi district, according to the city administration's Telegram channel. It was unclear whether there had been any casualties.

Regional Governor Oleksii Kuleba said Wednesday that Ukrainian forces shot down ten self-explosive drones over Kyiv and the region.

The reported attacks come as Ukraine has faced a barrage of Russian air strikes across the country in recent weeks, primarily targeting infrastructure, as well as continued fighting along the front lines in the east and south.

Officials in the United States said Tuesday that they were about to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, in response to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more powerful weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently pressed Western leaders to provide more advanced weapons to aid his country in its conflict with Russia. The Patriot would be the most advanced surface-to-air missile system provided by the West to Ukraine to help repel Russian aerial attacks in the conflict that erupted on February 24 with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, US officials said that Moscow is looking to Iran to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles.
According to Ukrainian officials, during the most recent round of volleys on December 5, more than 60 of 70 strikes were intercepted by air defence systems.