Russia targets Kyiv with largest drone attack of conflict

Russia launched its largest drone attack of the conflict yet on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, leaving one person dead and sparking fires across the city early on Sunday.

In an update late on Sunday, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Russia unleashed 59 Iranian Shahed drones – 58 of which were shot down. An earlier report from Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence put the total at 54 drones, only two of which were not shot down.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said a 41-year-old man died following the attacks, while falling drone debris at a gas station injured a 35-year-old woman.

Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was subjected to the largest drone attack since the start of Russia’s war, local officials said, as the city prepared to mark the anniversary of its founding on Sunday.. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/Getty Images) (Getty)

Kyiv has been targeted several times this month but despite this fatalities are rare.

Falling drone debris also sparked fires in buildings across the capital, Klitschko said on Telegram.

Following the barrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed Ukrainian air defence personnel as “heroes.”

“You look up to destroy enemy missiles, aircraft, helicopters, and drones. Every time you shoot down enemy drones and missiles, lives are saved,” the president said.

As well as trying to intimidate Kyiv residents, Moscow may be using the drone strikes to force Kyiv to expend valuable munitions shooting them down as well as get a sense of where air defences are.

Vladimir Golubenko looks at his office damaged by a drone during a night attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Vasilisa Stepanenko) (AP)

Shahed drones cost roughly 20 times less than a missile and so for Russia are a cheap way to inflict damage. The drones are manufactured in Iran and have frequently been deployed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Kyiv warned Tehran on Sunday there would be “consequences” for supplying the aerial arsenal to Moscow.

Zelenskyy said in his daily address Sunday that the overnight attack ranked as “one of the largest attacks by Shahed drones.”

Zelensky said the “most powerful” drone attack was directed against the Kyiv region, as Ukraine’s capital marked Kyiv Day, the anniversary of the city’s official founding 1,541 years ago.