Isolated Russian drones and swarms of drones entered Ukrainian airspace from different directions and at varying altitudes, authorities said, in an apparent attempt to challenge Ukraine’s air defense and surveillance systems. worry the city’s residents.
Ukrainian air defenses “neutralized” three dozen drones, but falling debris damaged a hospital as well as residential and office buildings in Kyiv, according to local authorities. A fire broke out on the 33rd floor of an apartment building.
At least two people were injured.
Drone attacks on the capital have taken place almost every day recently, with nighttime explosions and the continuous buzz of drones keeping the city on alert.
Russia is deploying around ten times more Iranian-made Shahed drones than at the same time last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week.
Ukrainian forces struggle to compete with the power of the Russian army, which is much larger and better equipped. Western support is essential to allow Ukraine to continue this costly war of attrition.
Uncertainty over the duration of this aid worsened this week with the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. The billionaire has repeatedly opposed US aid to Ukraine.
For its part, Russia is trying to reduce Ukraine’s appetite for continued fighting and undermine Western support for Kyiv by prolonging the conflict.
According to Andrii Kovalenko, director of the National Center for Combating Disinformation, the Russian barrage mainly involves Iranian Shahed drones, which terrorize civilians.
Russia is seeking to save and store its missiles, which are much more powerful than drones, Kovalenko said Thursday, although Russia has used missiles effectively in its campaign to knock out Ukraine’s power grid. .
Drone attacks are gradually weakening Ukraine’s air defenses, making it more vulnerable to future missile strikes.
During the day on Thursday, Russia launched five attacks using missiles and glide bombs on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, leaving at least one dead and ten injured, including a child a year, according to the press service of the regional military administration. The attacks damaged residential buildings and a hospital.
Power outages were reported in the Zhytomyr region, which borders Kyiv to the west, following a Russian attack, according to energy company Zhytomyroblenergo.
Another attack injured one person in the southern city of Odessa, the region’s governor, Oleh Kiper, said, and drone debris damaged an 11-story residential building.
