kiev said Friday it repelled a nighttime drone attack from Russia, a day after Moscow launched a new wave of missile strikes in the run-up to New Year celebrations.
The attacks came 10 months into Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. In recent months Russian strikes have targeted the energy grid, leaving millions in the cold in the middle of winter.
Ukraine’s air force said on Friday morning that Russia attacked Ukraine overnight using “Iranian-made kamikaze drones”.
Ukraine says repelled Russia nighttime drone attack: Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) –
Ukraine said Friday it repelled a nighttime drone attack from Russia, a day after Moscow launched a new wave of missile strikes in the run-up to New Year celebrations.
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A total of 16 drones were launched from the southeastern and northern directions and they were “all” destroyed by Ukraine’s air defence, it said.
The presidency said that Ukraine “withstood” the new drone attacks, which targeted infrastructure facilities.
In the capital Kyiv, city authorities announced an air alert shortly after 2:00 am local time.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko later said seven drones had targeted the capital. Two were shot down “on approach” and five over the city.
Read more: Drone targets another Russian airfield: Governor
There were no casualties, but falling debris damaged windows in two buildings in southwestern Kyiv, he added.
One of the drones hit a four-storey administrative building, starting a fire that was later extinguished, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential office.
Barrage of missiles
The drone attack came after a barrage of Russian missiles battered Ukraine on Thursday morning, with blasts reported across the vast country, from the northeastern city of Kharkiv to the western city of Lviv near the Polish border.
Ukraine’s army said Russia had launched several dozen cruise missiles, the majority of which had been shot down.
Tymoshenko said four civilians were killed and eight as a result of the strikes on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said most regions were left without power following Thursday’s attack.
Ukraine’s energy operator said Friday the damage had a “much smaller impact” on the power grid than “the enemy expected” and the power deficit was back to the levels before Thursday’s attack.
But “the situation in the southern and eastern regions is still difficult,” Ukrenergo added.
Russia has faced international condemnation and an onslaught of unprecedented sanctions over its war in Ukraine.
The growing international isolation has forced President Vladimir Putin to seek to boost closer political and economic cooperation with nations in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
AFP story with additional input from Global Village Space News Desk.