The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 71 Russian attack drones on Saturday night. The vast majority of Shahed missiles of Iranian design were destroyed over the capital region, the air force said. Kiev’s city administration spoke of the biggest attack on the capital since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Five people were injured, including an eleven-year-old child.
According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the air alarm sounded in his city for six hours. Falling drone debris also caused fires and damaged buildings, including a kindergarten. “The enemy continues his terror,” said Klitschko.
Ukraine will commemorate the Holodomor famine caused by the Soviet leadership nine decades ago on Saturday. The term is reminiscent of the years 1932 and 1933, when the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin caused a major famine through the forced collectivization of agriculture. Historians estimate that up to ten million people died in Ukraine alone.
“More than 70 Shaheds on the night of Holodomor Memorial Day… The Russian leadership is proud of its ability to kill,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on online networks.
Russia has repeatedly hit Ukraine with air strikes since its war of aggression began on February 24, 2022. Ukrainian air defense is capable of shooting down the majority of drones and missiles following deliveries of Western air defense systems. Since last fall, Russia has repeatedly and systematically attacked energy supply facilities in its neighboring country. Kiev is also expecting targeted attacks from Moscow against Ukraine’s electricity, heat and water supplies this winter.
