Ukraine: Kyiv receives significant drone assault from Russia, causing a 6-hour disturbance
Ukrainian authorities on Saturday reported that a substantial six-hour air raid on Kyiv resulted in the injury of five individuals.
As per Reuters, the assault on various parts of Kyiv commenced in the early hours of Saturday and extended into the daylight hours.
According to the provided information, air raid sirens persisted for a duration of six hours.
Initially, the Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have downed 71 out of 75 Russian drones, later revising the count to 74 by the end of the day.
The spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force conveyed on Saturday that 66 drones fell in Kyiv and its environs.
Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk commended the effectiveness of the airmobile defense system, comprised of rapid-response vehicles equipped with mounted machine guns or cannons.
"The primary target of the attack was Kyiv! I want to particularly highlight the operational efforts of the mobile fire groups from the Air Force and Ukraine's Defense Forces. They managed to eliminate almost 40% of the targets,” Oleschuk explained.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, in a Telegram channel post, revealed that the attack caused injuries to five people, including an 11-year-old girl, and inflicted damage on buildings across the city. Power outages affected around 200 structures, including 77 residential buildings. Klitschko noted that falling debris sparked a fire in a kindergarten.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy remarked that the attack occurred during the early morning hours when Ukrainians were commemorating the Holodomor famine, the worst tragedy in the country's history, which took place in 1932 and 1933 during Joseph Stalin's rule over the former Soviet Union.
Zelenskiy, drawing parallels between the Holodomor and the ongoing Russian invasion, expressed on Telegram, "A deliberate assassination... the Russian leadership takes pride in its ability to kill."
