KYIV: Ukraine’s air pressure stated it repelled one in every of Russia’s largest long-range drone assaults of the struggle in a single day, taking pictures down all 89 drones launched at Kyiv, the encircling area and different areas within the early hours of Wednesday (Jul 31).
The assault, which got here greater than 29 months after Russia’s full-scale invasion, primarily focused Kyiv and the encircling area the place native authorities stated greater than 40 drones had been shot down. An air raid alert remained in place many of the evening.
The capital’s army administration stated no civilian or crucial infrastructure took a direct hit, however particles broken the roofs, home windows and facades of 13 personal residences within the area, based on authorities there.
“This is likely one of the most large assaults by Shahed-131/136 strike drones,” the air pressure stated, naming the kind of drone it says Russia has used within the hundreds for strikes on Ukraine.
A army spy spokesman informed Reuters final week that Russia had additionally began utilizing new cheaply-produced drones, a few of them fitted with cameras, to movie the placement of Ukraine’s air defences and outcomes of its strikes, with others performing as decoys.
Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s army administration, stated the most recent drone assault was the seventh performed in opposition to the town in July.
Some 11,500 residents sheltered for security in metro stations within the evening because the drones got here in a number of waves from “all potential instructions”, the town authorities stated.
The air pressure additionally intercepted a Kh-59 missile fired on the southern area of Mykolaiv, it stated. Native authorities had not reported any harm there as of Wednesday morning.
There was no fast remark from Russia.
Kyiv and most of central and jap Ukraine had been underneath air raid alerts from 2000 GMT on Tuesday. Air defence techniques had been engaged on the approaches to Kyiv and the area exterior the area a number of instances within the evening, Popko stated.
Reuters reporters heard quite a few blasts that seemed like air defence techniques partaking targets.