Russia has launched a fresh big drone strike on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.
Vitaliy Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, claimed a man died after a drone crashed near a gas station. A lady was hurt.
Russia fired a record 54 so-called kamikaze drones against Ukrainian targets, 52 of which were shot down, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Russia, which commenced its full-scale invasion in February 2022, has increased its strikes on Kyiv, attempting to overwhelm the capital’s defenses.
At least two high-rise buildings in separate parts of the city caught fire after being struck by falling drone debris.
Kyiv authorities reportedly claimed that warehouses in the southern Holosiyivsky area had been set on fire.
More than 40 drones were downed above the city overnight, according to Ukrainian authorities. This information was not independently verified.
However, President Volodymyr Zelensky complimented the air defense and rescue services, saying: “You look up to destroy enemy missiles, aircraft, helicopters, and drones.” Every time you fire down hostile drones and missiles, lives are saved; you are heroes!”
Anastasiia, a Kyiv resident, claimed she was sleeping at home when she heard a drone hover “very close” to her window.
“I then saw a bright flash of light inside the apartment. It started off yellow, then became brilliant orange, and finally dazzling white. It was so light that I couldn’t see anything in the apartment,” she told the BBC, adding that everything became “extremely silent” after the flashes and that the explosions happened “two or three seconds after the flash.” “It was as loud as thunder.”
“Those two or three seconds felt like a very long time,” she told me. “The dazzling brightness was converted into complete darkness. I wanted to see whether there was any harm.
I couldn’t grasp what had occurred. I was in shock, therefore I was not frightened. I couldn’t tell whether I and my apartment were okay.”
Anastasiia said she only discovered she was still alive when she heard vehicle alarms on the street. “When people read the headlines about drones being intercepted, this is what they mean in reality. Then I went back to sleep till a buddy brought me breakfast and reminded me that we must cherish every minute of life.
“Some authorities accused Russia of purposefully attacking Kyiv as inhabitants prepared to celebrate Kyiv Day, which commemorated the city’s founding more than 1,500 years ago and was a major celebration before to the conflict.
Air raid alarms were issued earlier on Sunday in 12 Ukrainian districts, ranging from Volyn in the north-west to Dnipropetrovsk in the south-east. There were other reports of explosions in Zhytomyr, located west of Kyiv.
In recent strikes, Russia has used so-called kamikaze drones, as well as a variety of cruise and ballistic missiles.
The frequency of Russian assaults on Kyiv and other targets has increased as Ukraine prepares for a counter-offensive.
On Saturday, one of Ukraine’s top security officials told the BBC that the nation was prepared to undertake such an operation.
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s powerful National Security and Defence Council, said that an attack to recover land from President Vladimir Putin’s invading troops might begin “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or in a week.”
Ukraine has been preparing a counteroffensive for months. However, it has sought as much time as possible to train soldiers and collect military supplies from Western partners.
Meanwhile, Russian soldiers have been preparing to defend the captured districts in south-east Ukraine.
Drone assaults from both sides have been increasing. Russia has targeted both Ukraine’s crucial national infrastructure and military objectives.
Russia seems to be attempting to not just deplete Ukraine’s stockpile of air defense missiles, but also to harm the launch systems itself.
In response, Ukraine has targeted strategic targets in areas of the nation held by Russian soldiers. These include command and control locations, logistical supply lines, and oil storage facilities.
The pace of military exchanges between the two sides looks to be increasing as Ukraine prepares for its much-anticipated counter-offensive.
In recent weeks, Russia has accused Kyiv for severe artillery and mortar attacks on Belgorod. Belgorod’s governor issued an order on Sunday to shut all schools near the border with Ukraine and in Belgorod city for the summer, effective immediately.
Speaking to the BBC, Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, claimed his nation had “enormous resources” but has yet to “act very seriously”.
He warned that supplying weapons to Ukraine risks escalating the conflict to previously unheard-of levels, adding: “Sooner or later, of course, this escalation may take on a new dimension that we do not need or want.”