Ukraine foiled Russia’s big attack, shot down more than 30 drones

Ukraine’s air defense and mobile groups of drone hunters shot down 30 of 31 Russian drones in 11 areas across the country on Saturday, the air force said. A series of explosions echoed across the Ukrainian capital Kiev as air defense units engaged the Russian drone, Reuters witnesses said. Serhiy Popko, head of the city’s military administration, said it was the sixth airstrike on Kiev since the beginning of the month.

Popko said that tonight, after three days of ballistic threats, the enemy again attacked the capital. The drones attacked in groups, in waves and from different directions. Popko said there were no casualties and no major damage was reported in Kiev. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russian forces launched Iranian-made Martyr drones into Russia from three different directions, targeting 11 different areas in the center, north and south of the country. Fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units and mobile fire groups of drone hunters foiled the Russian drone attack, the Air Force said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said anti-aircraft units went into action as groups of Russian drones flew over the city’s outskirts and targeted areas near the city center. Klitschko said there was heavy anti-aircraft activity in the Darnitsky district on the east bank of the Dnipro and that there were also explosions in historic Podil on the opposite bank.