Ukraine War: Putin Bombards Kiev with Dozens of ‘Kamikaze’ Drones in Massive Overnight Blitzkrieg

Russia A wave of airstrikes was released Kyiv As the Ukrainian capital prepares to celebrate Sunday’s National Day, officials announced overnight what appeared to be the largest drone attack on the city since the start of the war.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down 52 of 54 Russian-launched drones, claiming it was a record attack by an Iranian-made “kamikaze” drone. It was not immediately clear how many drones were shot over Kiev.

Falling debris killed a 41-year-old man in the first deadly attack on Kiev in May and what is believed to be the 14th attack this month, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The pre-dawn attack took place on the last Sunday in May, when the capital celebrates Kiev Day, the official anniversary of its 1,541-year-old founding. The day usually features street fairs, live concerts, and special museum exhibits. Plans are still being made for this year, but on a smaller scale.

“Ukrainian history is a long-standing annoyance for the unstable Russian people,” Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office of Volodymyr Zelensky, said on his Telegram channel.

The Air Force said in a Telegram that Russia is targeting military and critical infrastructure sites in central Ukraine, particularly in the Kiev region.

Reuters could not independently verify this information.

Fifteen months into the war and a Ukrainian counterattack looming, Moscow stepped up its airstrikes, mostly against military posts and supplies, after a lull of nearly two months. Now waves of attacks are coming several times a week.

Sunday’s attacks came after Kiev said fighting had eased around the besieged city of Bakhmut in southeastern Ukraine, where the longest fighting of the war took place.

Kiev’s military chief Serhiy Popko said the attacks were divided into several waves and that the air alert lasted more than five hours.

“Today, the enemy decided to ‘bless’ the Kiev people with the help of a formidable UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle),” Popko said on the Telegram message channel.

Several districts of Kiev, Ukraine’s largest city with a population of about 3 million people, were damaged in the nighttime attacks, including the historic Pechersky district, officials said.

Reuters eyewitnesses said many people stood on their balconies during the air raid sirens that began shortly after midnight, some shouting attacks at Russian President Vladimir Putin and chanting “Glory to the Air Defense.” Some people shouted.

Falling debris set a three-story warehouse on fire and destroyed about 1,000 square meters (10,800 square feet) of building structures in Kiev’s southwestern Khorosivky district, mayor Klitschko said.

A seven-story non-residential building in the Solomyansky district in the western part of the city was hit by debris from a drone and caught fire. The district is a hub for rail and air traffic.

In the Pechersky district, falling debris from the drone caused a fire on the roof of a nine-story building, and damaged shops in the Darnitsky district, a Kiev military official told Telegram.

Russia launched its offensive just hours after a presidential aide revealed the first phase of a long-awaited counteroffensive against Ukraine. President Putintroops were underway.

Mihailo Podoljak yesterday said the process was “complicated” and not “a matter of one day, one specific date and one specific time”. “The intensity is increasing,” he said, adding that certain operations have already taken place, including the bombing of supply lines and depots.

In an interview with The Guardian, hHe predicted that as the counteroffensive gathered momentum, there would be more rebel incursions into mainland Russia. Recent raids in the Belgorod region.

national Ministry of Defense releases new video Yesterday’s ad vowed to “kill his enemies” and take back the country, as well as take revenge on those who “killed his brothers and raped his sisters.”

The trailer calls on Ukrainians to join the military and promises to send a new battalion and Western tanks to help the country achieve its “sacred goal of living free on God-given land.” bottom.