Russia launched the largest drone strike on Kiev earlier this Sundayon the eastern front, he continued to regroup his troops after the retreat of the Wagner Group’s mercenaries from the devastated city of Bakhmut began.
“It was a drone attack bigger Against the capital since the beginning of the large-scale invasion,” he said.
drone wave
As Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko reported, The first explosions occurred around 01:00 local time.however, the drones continued to come in waves from various directions in the early morning hours.
At least one person was killed as a result of the attacks on the capital.
The city of Zhitomir in the north of the country was also attacked by drones and at least 26 residential buildings were damaged, but no casualties were reported, municipal officials reported.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force Command, Russia launched a total of 54 drones Iranian-made kamikaze Shahed-136/131, 52 of them killed by anti-aircraft defense.
Zelensky praised air defense
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent a message to air defense personnel, firefighters and rescue teams on his Telegram channel, “You are our heroes!”
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat stressed that the country’s anti-aircraft defense is getting better day by day, although he admits that more tools are needed to achieve one hundred percent results.
“This can be achieved with the F-16 aircraft we expect so much”He claimed.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian state television that it would be an “unacceptable escalation” for Moscow to supply a fourth-generation multipurpose aircraft from the West to Ukraine.
The head of Russian diplomacy added that there are “reasonable people who understand this” in the West, but stressed that those responsible are Washington, London and their satellites within the European Union. Russia, whose territory is under attack again today.
Russian territory was also targeted
At least one person was killed and two others injured. In the Belgorod region of Russia, as a result of artillery fire from neighboring Ukraine, the governor of this federated entity of Russia informed Viacheslav Gladkov.
Moreover 200 cannonballsIn the last twenty-four hours, the territory of the Belgorod region has been struck, including by mortar mines, the governor said on his Telegram channel.
The death occurred in the town of Shebekino, a factory guard and two injured. dropped a total of 103 howitzers and mortar minesHe drew attention to Gladkov.
The number of crashes was even higher in the Graivoron district, where three administrative buildings and five houses were damaged, according to district authorities (115).
earlier this week Graivoron region was the scene of an armed raid by hundreds of “Ukrainian saboteurs”According to Russian officials, an alleged act by two Russian groups fighting on the side of Kiev: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Russian Freedom Legion.
According to the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the intensity of fighting around Bakhmut decreased significantly after units of the Wagner Group mercenary company began to retreat and their positions to be transferred to the United States. Russian regular troops.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the mercenaries who announced this The withdrawal to the rear camps would end on the 31st.announced on Telegram this Sunday that the transfer of positions will take more days.