“Kamikaze drones” launched by Russia struck Kyiv early Monday, the Ukrainian presidency said, describing the strikes as an act of desperation, nearly eight months after the start of a war that has claimed thousands of lives.
Just before the first blast at around 6:35 a.m. (03:35 a.m.), air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv, followed by sirens across most of the country.
“The capital was attacked by kamikaze drones,” Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said on social media.
“Russians think it will help them, but it shows their desperation,” he added.
“We need more air defense systems and we need them as soon as possible. More weapons to defend the skies and crush the enemy.”
The attacks come exactly a week after Russia unleashed a massive wave of rocket attacks on the Ukrainian capital and cities across the country.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the drone strike caused a fire and damaged several buildings in the central Shevchenkivsky district and warned residents to take shelter.
“Firefighters are on duty. Several residential buildings were damaged. Paramedics are on site,” he said on Telegram.
“We clarify the information about the victims.”
The mayor also released an image of what he said was the charred wreckage of one of the kamikaze drones, munitions loitering that can hover while waiting for a target to attack.
– “Iranian Drones” –
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week Iranian drones have been used in Russian attacks on energy infrastructure in several Ukrainian cities, despite Tehran denying it is supplying Russia with weapons for the war.
On October 10, Russian missiles rained down on Kyiv and other cities in the largest wave of attacks in months.
The attacks killed at least 19 people, injured 105 others and sparked an international outcry.
Moscow conducted further strikes on October 11, albeit on a smaller scale, and attacked power plants in western Ukraine far from the front lines.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attacks were in retaliation for a blast that damaged a key bridge linking Russia to Moscow’s annexed Crimea peninsula.
Putin expressed his satisfaction on Friday, saying there was no need for further massive attacks on Ukraine “for now”.
The Russian president also claimed Moscow “got everything right” in its nearly eight-month invasion of Ukraine, despite a series of embarrassing defeats.
In southern Ukraine, Kiev’s troops are advancing ever closer to Cherson, the capital of the region of the same name north of Crimea.
Kherson is one of four regions in Ukraine that Moscow allegedly recently annexed, and the city of Kherson was the first major city to fall after the Kremlin began its invasion.
Washington on Friday announced fresh military aid to Kyiv “following Russia’s brutal rocket attacks on civilians across Ukraine.”
The new $725 million package included more ammunition for the Himars missile systems used by Ukraine to wreak havoc on Russian targets.
This brings total US military aid to Ukraine since the February 24 Russian invasion to $17.6 billion.
