KYIV: Ukraine’s capital suffered what officials said was Russia’s largest drone attack of the war on Saturday, leaving five persons wounded as the rumble of air defences and explosions woke residents at sunrise.
The attack began hitting different districts of Kyiv in the early hours of Saturday, with more waves coming as the sun came up. The air raid warning lasted six hours.
Ukraine’s air force initially said 71 of the 75 drones had been shot down, but subsequently revised the number of downed craft to 74. Its spokesperson said on television that 66 of those had been downed over Kyiv and the surrounding region.
Air force chief Mykola Oleschuk praised the effectiveness of ‘mobile fire’ units usually fast pickup trucks with a machine gun or flak cannon mounted on their flatbed. According to the air force chief, these downed nearly 40 per cent of the drones.