On Eve of Kyiv Day, Russia Carries Out Massive Drone Attack

KYIV: As Kyiv was ready to celebrate its founding anniversary on Sunday, the city was the target of the worst drone strike since the start of Russia's war, according to local officials. There was at least one fatality, but officials reported that scores of drones were shot down, highlighting Ukraine's air defence capabilities.

According to Serhii Popko, a senior military official in Kyiv, Russia used drones built in Iran called Shahed to launch the "most massive attack" on the city overnight on Saturday. More than 40 drones were reportedly shot down by air defences during the raid, which lasted more than five hours.

According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, when debris fell on a seven-story nonresidential structure and ignited a fire, a 41-year-old male was killed and a 35-year-old woman was injured and taken to hospital.

The Ukrainian Society of the Blind's building was harmed by drone debris. Volodymyr Golubenko, a team member, came to pick up his belongings on Sunday morning. His son Mykola assisted him by searching among the debris for his father's things and trying to communicate to him the current state of his office.

The number of Shahed drone assaults across the nation, according to the Ukrainian air force, broke a record on Saturday night. Air defence systems shot down 52 of the 54 drones that were fired. Despite most of its drone attacks against Ukraine being shot down, Russia has fired waves of them repeatedly. This month, Ukraine has also asserted that it had shot down a number of Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised as giving his country a significant competitive advantage.

Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that two separate shelling attacks in the northern Kharkiv province claimed the lives of a 61-year-old woman and a 60-year-old male. The city's formal founding anniversary is commemorated on Kyiv Day. Live performances, street fairs, exhibitions, and fireworks are frequently used to mark the occasion. This year, the city's 1,541th anniversary, was to be celebrated with fewer activities.

According to Ukrainian officials, the drone attacks' timing was probably not a coincidence.

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