Ukraine’s capital came under another missile attack early Wednesday, resulting in at least 45 injuries and several damaged buildings, the city’s mayor said.

A series of loud explosions could be heard in Kyiv at 3 a.m. as the city’s air defenses were activated for the second time this week.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Kitschko said on Telegram that debris from intercepted missiles fell in the eastern Dniprovskyi district, injuring at least 45 people. Eighteen people including two children were hospitalized while 27 people received medical treatment on the spot. An apartment building, a private house and several cars caught fire, while the windows of a children’s hospital were shattered, Klitschko said. Falling rocket debris also damaged the water supply system in the district.

On Monday, a Russian missile attack destroyed several homes on the outskirts of Kyiv and left more than 100 households temporarily without electricity.

Wednesday’s attack came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington, where he made an impassioned plea to Congress to approve additional aid to fight Russia’s invasion.

As winter sets in and hampers troop movements, allowing little change along the front line, air bombardment plays a growing role in the war. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia will target energy infrastructure to cause power outages and blackouts like it did last winter.

Cyberattacks are also a busy battleground. Ukrainian telecom provider Kyivstar, which serves more than 24 million mobile customers across the country, said its services were disrupted Tuesday by a “powerful” attack by hackers. It also disrupted the air raid warning system in part of the Kyiv region, according to the head of the Kyiv regional administration, Ruslan Kravchenko.

(AP)