Ukraine thwarts Russian drone strike directed at Kyiv
Ukrainian authorities claim they have thwarted a Russian drone strike on Kyiv but several buildings were still damaged.
Regional Governor Oleksii Kuleba said Ukrainian forces had shot down 13 self-explosive drones over Kyiv and the region on Wednesday.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in a post on Telegram that municipal teams were in place after the blasts and officials said the attack involved Iranian-made Shahed drones - like those that Ukrainian authorities say have been involved in other Russian strikes in the country.
Shrapnel from one drone damaged two administrative buildings in the central Shevchenkyvskyi district, the Kyiv city administration said on its Telegram channel.
There have been no reported casualties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a brief video statement, said the “terrorists” fired 13 Iranian-made drones, and all were intercepted.
Such drones have been part of the firepower, along with rockets, missiles, shelling mortars and artillery, as Russia targets power stations, water facilities and other public utility sites.
The capital remained largely calm after the attack, which occurred around daybreak and before the start of the business day, and any destruction appeared to be very limited.
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The head of the Kyiv city administration, Serhii Popko, wrote on Telegram that the attempted strikes came in two waves. Wreckage from the intercepted drones damaged an administrative building and four residential buildings, he said.A blast left the three-story tax office building in the central Shevchenkyvskyi district with a gaping hole in the roof and blew out windows in parked cars and in a neighbouring building.Clean-up crews were on site quickly to shovel away the rubble and roll out plastic sheeting to cover the blown-out windows in freezing temperatures.
The reported attacks come as Ukraine has faced a barrage of Russian air strikes across the country, largely targeting infrastructure, in recent weeks as well as continued fighting along the front lines in the eastern and southern regions.
Ukrainian authorities said that during the latest round of volleys on December 5, more than 60 of 70 strikes were intercepted by air defence systems including nine out of 10 targeting the capital and its region.
US officials on Tuesday said the United States was poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles.
Mr Zelenskyy pressed Western leaders as recently as Monday to provide more advanced weapons to help his country in its war with Russia.
The Patriot would be the most advanced surface-to-air missile system the West has provided to Ukraine to help repel Russian aerial attacks in the war between the countries that erupted with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
US officials also said last week that Moscow has been looking to Iran to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles.