Ukrainian officials claim they shot down over a dozen drones during a Wednesday morning Russian raid on the capital city of Kyiv.
Explosions shook the central Shevchenkivskyi area as alleged Iranian-made Shahid drones were shot down by air defenses.
Since October, Russia has frequently attacked Ukrainian energy facilities with missiles and drones.
In addition, Oleksiy Kuleba, the governor of Kyiv, accused Russia of “continuing its energy terror against our country” with the most recent series of drone attacks.
In a Telegram message, the national energy grid manager Ukrenergo stated that Wednesday’s strikes did not cause any harm to energy infrastructure and praised the “great job of the air defense troops.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian forces had shot down 13 Shahid drones, which, according to him, was the total number of Russian drones launched on Wednesday.
Governor Kuleba reported that a drone fragment had struck an administrative office and four residential buildings in the city. However, a spokeswoman for the city’s emergency services informed Ukrainian media that no casualties had been reported.
Svetlana, a witness, told that the first attack occurred at 06:30 (04:30 GMT) local time.
She stated that the sound resembled that of a scooter. It fell behind the homes, followed by a roar and an explosion.
She went on: “How will people endure the coming winter? What do they want from us, Lord? They refuse to allow Ukrainians to survive.”
Anton, another resident of Kyiv, told that shattered glass from the blasts almost missed his sleeping children.
“Let Putin perish,” he said. “I did nothing wrong to him, yet he treats me this way.”
The attacks occurred while Martin Griffiths, the UN’s humanitarian chief, was in Kyiv after touring the southern cities of Mykolaiv and Kherson. He told that they were a reminder that “the entire country is still suffering from the conflict, not just the front lines.”
Mr. Griffiths stated that there was an urgent need to assist Ukraine in restoring energy supplies, especially by sending generators, because “electricity is the gateway to life.” “Without power, you are unable to stay warm, receive medical care, attend school, or travel.”
Iran first refuted Ukraine’s accusation that it supplied Russia with “kamikaze” drones used in deadly assaults on October 17th.
Iran later confessed to supplying a small number of drones to Moscow “several months” before the battle.
In response, Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that this was a falsehood and that many more Iranian drones were being employed.
Ukraine claims that Russia has been targeting its electrical grid in recent months to demoralize its population. Temperatures have plummeted below freezing across Ukraine, but Martin Griffiths says there are no signs of a large fresh surge of Ukrainians abandoning their homes and country.
Global leaders have deemed the assaults on civilian infrastructure to be a war crime, but Russian President Vladimir Putin defended them last week, claiming they were a retaliation to an explosion on a Russian bridge leading to the annexation of Crimea on October 8.
According to rumors, the United States is ready to provide Ukraine with its cutting-edge Patriot air defense system. According to senior defense sources who spoke with Reuters, the announcement may be made as early as Thursday.
The system is among the world’s most advanced and is typically in short supply. Due to its extended range, it might potentially intercept Russian missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles before they reach Ukrainian cities.
However, unlike Ukraine’s current air defense systems, Patriot systems require huge personnel to operate, and it could take several months to train Kyiv’s military to utilize it successfully.
Any move to provide Ukraine with Patriot defenses would undoubtedly be viewed as an escalation by Russia. Last month, former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is now vice head of the national security council, cautioned against this action.
Meanwhile, Ukraine claims to have negotiated the release of 64 soldiers seized by Russia earlier this year during fighting in the eastern Donbas region.
Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff for President Zelensky, added that officials had obtained the release of American citizen Suedi Murekezi.
Mr. Murekezi was captured in July by Russian troops occupying the southern city of Kherson, where he had lived for almost two years.
He was released from Russian captivity in October, but Moscow’s officials blocked him from leaving Donetsk province because he lacked identifying documents.
