In a significant development, Ukraine reported on Saturday that it had successfully downed 71 Russian attack drones overnight, marking what Kyiv authorities are describing as the largest assault on the capital since the commencement of the invasion.
According to the city administration in Kyiv, five individuals, including an 11-year-old child, sustained injuries during the attack.
The Ukrainian air force announced on social media, “The air force destroyed 71 Shahed 131/136 attack UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). The vast majority of them were destroyed in the Kyiv region.”
The city experienced a six-hour air alert, during which falling drone debris ignited fires and caused damage to various buildings across the capital, as reported by Mayor Vitali Klitschko. He expressed concern, stating, “The enemy continues the terror.”
Notably, this assault occurred on the same day that Ukraine observed Holodomor, commemorating the 1930s famine that led to the starvation of millions in Ukraine under the rule of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
In response to the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to social media, commenting, “More than 70 Shaheds on the night of the Holodomor Remembrance Day… The Russian leadership is proud of the fact that it can kill.”
The incident adds to the escalating tensions in the region, underscoring the ongoing challenges faced by Ukraine in its efforts to defend against the Russian invasion.