The Ukrainian Air Force has alleged that Russia launched its largest drone attack on the country overnight, hitting most of its targets in Kiev, the nation’s capital. As of now, the Russian Defence Ministry has not confirmed the aerial attack.
Colonel General Nikolay Oleschuk, the Commander of the Air Force, announced on Telegram on Saturday that a total of seventy-five Geran-2 loitering munitions had been dispatched into the Ukrainian territory.
“The enemy has attacked Ukraine with a record number of strike UAVs. Kiev was the attack’s primary target, the author stated.
Social media videos posted by Kiev locals are said to show multiple Geran-2 drones flying over the city. Some sources state that during the incident, there were explosions on the grounds of the Borispol International Airport, which is located around 30 km east of Kiev.
The Air Force added in a different tweet that the regions of Sumy, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, and Kirovograd have also activated their air defences.
According to the Ukrainian Energy Ministry, “a large-scale drone attack” caused 120 institutions and 77 residential units in Kiev to lose electricity.
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Oleschuk claims that out of 75 autonomous pusher-prop drones coming from Russia, 71 had been shot down. Moscow had previously accused Kiev of greatly inflating the quantity of drones and missiles it claims it can take out. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Shoigu stated in May that Ukraine frequently misidentifies the weapons used in the assaults in its reports and that it claims to shoot down more missiles than Russia actually fires.
In Ukraine, Russia started using Geran-2 drones on a large scale last autumn. The engine noise of these very inexpensive yet efficient loitering weapons has earned them the moniker “mopeds.”
By referring to the UAVs as “Shahed-136,” Ukraine suggests that Iran is the manufacturer. Moscow and Tehran have refuted the claims on multiple occasions. The Russian Defence Ministry maintains that, like all the other equipment utilised in the military campaign in Ukraine, its Geran-2 drones are made in Russia.
Prior to the start of the confrontation with Kiev in February 2022, the Iranian Foreign Ministry had only verified shipping a small number of drones to Russia; it stressed that no additional deliveries had occurred since then.
