‘Russia has launched its largest drone attack’

KYIV: Russia on Saturday morning launched its most intense drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022, targeting the Ukrainian capital, military officials said.

“Kyiv was the main target,” Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his Telegram channel.

In total, Russia launched 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones against Ukraine, of which 74 were destroyed by air defences, Ukraine’s air force said.

The attack was “the most massive air attack by drones on Kyiv,” said Serhii Popko,

head of the Kyiv city administration. Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat confirmed later that the air defences shot down 66 air targets over the capital and surrounding region throughout the morning.

At least five civilians were wounded in the hours long assault, which saw several buildings damaged by falling debris from downed drones, including a kindergarten. The wounded included an 11-year-old child, according to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko.

In the city’s Solomiansky district, debris left a crater in the courtyard of a residential area, and the windows of a nearby building were blown out. Residents, most of them elderly, received medical attention at the scene. Others took shelter in a nearby subway station.

As people were clearing up debris and broken glass in the neighbourhood, the hum of a fresh wave of drones could be heard nearby.

The assault on Kyiv commenced at 4 a.m., persisting in waves for over six hours, resulting in power outages for 77 residential buildings and 120 institutions, as reported by Popko. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry confirmed 17,000 people without power in the Kyiv region, citing damage to four power lines. Power restoration occurred in the early afternoon. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy communicated on Telegram, acknowledging the successful defence against most drones but expressing the

ongoing effort to fortify air defences and intercept additional threats.

Unfortunately, not all drones were neutralised. The president emphasised the dedication to enhancing air defence capabilities for continued protection.

The attack was carried out on the morning of Holodomor Memorial Day which commemorates the manmade famine in Soviet Ukraine that killed millions of Ukrainians from 1932 to 1933. It is marked on the fourth Saturday in

November.