“In a combat air defense shot down all five ballistic missiles that Russian criminals had directed at Kyiv. Unfortunately, fragments of the downed missiles caused damage and destruction in five districts of the capital. There are dead and wounded,” the air force said.

The Russian leader had mockingly challenged Ukraine’s Western allies to a missile “duel,” testing their air defenses, during his annual year-end news conference.

A Russian missile strike killed at least one person and damaged a historical cathedral, six embassies and other buildings across the Ukrainian capital during the morning rush hour on Friday, Ukrainian officials said.