Kyiv: Russia on Saturday launched the largest drone attack against Kyiv since the beginning of the Ukraine invasion, officials here said.
“A total of nearly 75 Shahed drones were launched from two directions – Primorsko-Akhtarsk and the Kursk region, Russia. The primary target was the city of Kyiv,” said Ukraine’s Air Force in a Telegram post, describing the attack as a “record number” of drones, reports CNN.
The Ukrainian air defence destroyed 71 of the drones, it said, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Anti-aircraft missile troops, tactical aviation, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units were involved in repelling the air attack,” said the Air Force. It added that a Kh-59 guided missile was also destroyed in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The drone strike, which lasted for six hours, marked the fourth attack on Kyiv this month, the Kyiv City Military Administration said in a statement.
Mykhailo Shamanov, a spokesman for the Kyiv city military administration, described several waves of drones coming from different directions toward the capital, reports CNN.
The attack disrupted the electricity supply to 77 residential buildings and 120 institutions, it said. Ukrainian energy company DTEK announced later on Saturday that power had been restored to all Kyiv residents.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four adults and an 11-year-old child suffered minor injuries in the attack.
Private houses, apartment blocks and a kindergarten in Kyiv have been damaged by the falling drone parts, Klitschko wrote on Telegram.
Last winter, Russia carried out a sustained campaign of missile and drone attacks to cripple Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
With inputs from agencies