Ukraine downed its own drone in Kyiv after device 'lost control'

Russia-Ukraine war: The explosions, which resonated for about 15 to 20 minutes in Kyiv, followed a wave of overnight Russian attacks.

The Ukrainian air force said it downed its own drone that lost control over Kyiv on Thursday, after a series of explosions shook the capital.

Firefighters operate at the scene of a fire in a building damaged after drone fragments fell over Kyiv. (AFP)

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The explosions, which resonated for about 15 to 20 minutes in Kyiv, followed a wave of overnight Russian attacks between Wednesday and Thursday.

"At about 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) a Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial device lost control during a scheduled flight in the Kyiv region... the target was destroyed!" the air force said, adding it was establishing the cause of a "likely" technical malfunction.

At the time of the explosions, AFP journalists saw a drone that air defence was attempting to shoot down, while the Kyiv city military administration said "air defence is at work."

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said "firefighters put out a fire on the ground floor of a four-storey shopping centre" in the Solomyansky district.

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The fire spread over 50 square metres (538 square feet) and caused some superficial damage but no victims were reported, Klitschko said.