At least one person was killed in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in drone attacks on the night from Saturday to Sunday. Three people were injured. This is reported by international news agencies based on Ukrainian authorities. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said a 41-year-old man was killed after debris from a drone shot down from the sky crashed into a petrol station.
Drone attacks on Kyiv have been frequent since the beginning of the war, but rarely on such a large scale. According to Serhi Popki, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, more than 40 drones were intercepted during five hours this time. Russia used Iranian-made Shahed drones in the attack, according to Popki. The so-called kamikaze drones are programmed to fly at a specific target and explode and are a cheap alternative to air missiles.
The attacks on Kyiv take place on the day the capital celebrates its founding in AD 482. Ukrainian authorities suggested that this time the attack was larger than usual because of the holiday. “Ukraine’s history has long been a source of irritation to insecure Russians,” Andri Jermak, President Zelensky’s top adviser, wrote on Telegram.
Not only Kyiv was under fire: in the northeastern Ukrainian province of Kharkiv, according to the governor of the province, two people were killed in drone attacks. Drone attacks also took place in the Russian province of Krasnodar, on the Sea of Azov. According to local officials quoted by the Reuters news agency, Russian anti-aircraft guns intercepted drones flying from Ukraine in the direction of the Ilski oil refinery.
This article is also part of our live blog: At least 1 dead and 3 injured in Kyiv in holiday drone strikes