Russia sends its “largest drone attack” to Kyiv, Ukraine.
KYIV: On Sunday, Russia launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, since the war began. Two people were killed and three were hurt in the attack, which happened as the city was getting ready to celebrate the anniversary of its founding.
The Ukraine’s Air Force said that 52 of the 54 drones made in Iran were shot down. But it wasn’t clear how many drones were sent into the air over Kyiv.
The government says that two people were killed and three others were hurt when pieces of the shot-down drones fell in several neighborhoods.
The attacks happened before dawn on the last Sunday of May, which is Kyiv Day in the capital. This is the day that the city was officially founded 1,541 years ago. Plans have been made for street fairs, live music, and special museum exhibits this year, but they will be smaller than usual.
The head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, Andriy Yermak, said on his Telegram channel, “The history of Ukraine has long been a source of irritation for the insecure Russians.”
On Telegram, the Air Force said that Russia had attacked military and important infrastructure sites in the central parts of Ukraine, especially in the Kyiv region.
In Kyiv, Ukraine, a firefighter works at the site of a tobacco plant that was damaged by a Russian drone strike during Russia’s attack on Ukraine. May 28, 2023. — Reuters
In Kyiv, Ukraine, a firefighter works at the site of a tobacco plant that was damaged by a Russian drone strike during Russia’s attack on Ukraine. May 28, 2023. — Reuters
Reuters was not able to check the facts on its own.
After 15 months of war, Ukraine is planning a counteroffensive, so Moscow has stepped up air strikes after a break of almost two months. Most of the targets are military sites and supplies. Attacks now happen several times a week in waves.
The attacks on Sunday happened after Kyiv said that fighting had calmed down around the besieged city of Bakhmut in southeastern Ukraine. This is where the longest battle of the war has been going on.
Serhiy Popko, who is in charge of Kyiv’s military administration, said that the attack happened in waves, and air alerts went on for more than five hours.
“Today, the enemy decided to use their deadly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to “congratulate” the people of Kyiv on Kyiv Day,” Popko said on the Telegram messaging channel.
Officials say that several neighborhoods in Kyiv, which has about 3 million people and is by far the biggest city in Ukraine, were hurt in the attacks that happened overnight. This includes the famous Pecherskyi neighborhood.
Reuters witnesses said that when the air raid alerts started shortly after midnight, many people stood on their rooftops and yelled insults at Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and “Glory to air defense” slogans.
Mayor Klitschko said that falling debris set fire to a three-story warehouse in the green Holosiivskyi district in the southwest of Kyiv. The fire destroyed about 1,000 square meters (10,800 square feet) of building structures.
A building in the Solomyanskyi area west of the city caught fire after falling drone parts hit a seven-story building that wasn’t a home. The area is a busy place where trains and planes come and go.
Kyiv’s military administration said on Telegram that falling drone parts caused a fire on the roof of a nine-story building in the Pecherskyi district and damage to a shop in the Darnytskyi district.