Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday hailed his country’s air defense forces and rescue services after the capital withstood the largest Russian drone attack since the beginning of the invasion.
“You look up to destroy enemy missiles, aircraft, helicopters and drones. Every time you shoot down enemy drones and missiles, lives are saved ... you are heroes,” Zelensky said, also thanking rescuers.
Russia unleashed waves of air strikes on Kyiv in the early hours yesterday as the Ukrainian capital prepared to celebrate the anniversary of its founding.
Photo: Reuters
The Ukrainian Air Force said it downed 52 of the 54 Russia-launched drones, calling it a record attack with the Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones.
It was not immediately clear how many of the drones were shot over Kyiv.
In what also appeared to be the first deadly attack on the capital this month, as well as the 14th assault, falling debris killed a 41-year-old man, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The pre-dawn attacks came on the last Sunday of May when the capital celebrates Kyiv Day, the anniversary of its official founding 1,541 years ago.
The day is typically marked by street fairs, live concerts and special museum exhibitions — plans for which have been made this year, too, but on a smaller scale.
“The history of Ukraine is a long-standing irritant for the insecure Russians,” Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian Air Force wrote on Telegram that Russia had targeted military and critical infrastructure facilities in the central regions of Ukraine, and the Kyiv region in particular.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the information.
With a Ukrainian counteroffensive looming 15 months into the war, Moscow has intensified air strikes after a lull of nearly two months, targeting chiefly military sites and supplies. Waves of attacks now come several times a week.
Yesterday’s attacks came after Kyiv said that combat clashes had eased around the besieged city of Bakhmut in southeastern Ukraine, the site of the war’s longest battle.
Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said the attack was carried out in several waves, and air alerts lasted more than five hours.
“Today, the enemy decided to ‘congratulate’ the people of Kyiv on Kyiv Day with the help of their deadly UAVs [uncrewed aerial vehicles],” Popko wrote on Telegram.
Several districts of Kyiv, by far the largest Ukrainian city with a population of about 3 million, were affected by the attacks, officials said, including the historical Pecherskyi neighborhood.
Witnesses said that during the air raid alerts, which started soon after midnight, many people stood on their balconies, some screaming offensives directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin and “Glory to air defense” slogans.
Additional reporting by AFP
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