Dramatic photos have emerged showing Kiev under fire in the biggest drone strike of the conflict so far, while President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected another winter bombardment.
There were a total of almost 75 drones launched from two directions, namely the Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk regions of Russia, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a Telegram post.
It was described as a ‘record number’ of drones. However, Ukraine claims to have intercepted around 71 of the drones in the attack.
At least five people were injured in the attack, including an 11-year-old girl.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that apartment buildings and a daycare center were affected.
A drone explosion is seen in the sky above the city during a Russian drone strike
There were a total of almost 75 drones launched from two directions
Smoke rises after a drone strike. It was described by the Ukrainian air force as a ‘record number’ of drones
A damaged kindergarten after a Russian drone attack in Kiev. It came as Russia launched its most intense drone attack on Ukraine since the war began
He said: “In Solomyan district, a fire broke out in the buildings of a kindergarten due to the fall of UAV debris.
‘There are also open fires in this area. Fire and rescue services are on scene.”
Explosions were heard as aircraft were intercepted, damaging buildings by the Iranian-made kamikaze Shahed drones.
Photos show searchlights searching the night sky for enemy aircraft, like scenes from the London Blitz in World War II.
During the night, the Ukrainian Air Force reported sightings of Shahed drones in Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kryvyi Rih, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kiev.
Rescue workers extinguish a fire at the scene of a drone strike. Ukraine said it had downed most of the 75 Russian attack drones
A firefighter examines the damage in an apartment building after the drone attack
Ukrainian police and military experts collect fragments of downed Russian drones around a crater in a yard surrounding residential buildings
Paramedics provide psychological assistance to residents of a damaged apartment complex
About 71 of the 75 drones were intercepted by Ukrainian forces, it is claimed
Ukrainian soldiers use a searchlight as they search the skies above the city for drones during a Russian drone strike
The air force added: “Aircraft missile forces, tactical aviation, mobile fire groups and electronic warfare units were involved in repelling the air attack.”
Serhii Popko, head of the military administration of the city of Kiev, said: “As a result of the shooting down of enemy drones in the Solomianskyi district, damage to windows in apartments was recorded.”
The attack took place ahead of Ukraine’s annual day of remembrance for the victims of the 1932 Holodomor famine.
A drone flies in the sky over Kiev during the Russian drone strike
President Zelensky described the strikes as an act of ‘deliberate terror’
A police officer inspects a kindergarten site damaged by Russian drone strikes
Local residents walk in front of their apartment building that has been damaged by Russian drone attacks
The attack took place ahead of Ukraine’s annual day of remembrance for the victims of the 1932 Holodomor famine
President Zelenskyy described the attacks as an act of “deliberate terror” and said more than 70 drones were involved in the attack, but most were shot down.
The president added: “The closer we get to winter, the more Russians will try to make the attacks more powerful.”
This is the fourth drone attack on the capital this month.
The country’s Energy Ministry said the attack cut power to an overhead line, leaving 77 residential buildings and 120 establishments in the city center without power.
The attack bears similarities to attacks a year ago, when Russia began targeting Ukraine’s energy, military and transportation infrastructure six months after withdrawing troops from the Ukrainian capital.
This left millions of people without energy and heating during the bitter winter.