Ukraine war: Russia launches ‘biggest’ kamikaze drone attack

Air raid sirens have sounded throughout Ukraine after Russia launched a recent wave of drone and missile strikes.

Explosions have been heard in a single day within the capital, Kyiv, the place the mayor stated 5 folks had been injured within the “largest” kamikaze drone assault to this point.

One individual was killed within the assault on the southern Odesa area. Ukraine’s Crimson Cross says its warehouse was hit.

It marks the fourth assault in eight days on Kyiv and comes simply 24 hours earlier than Russia celebrates Victory Day.

The annual vacation commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany throughout World Struggle Two, a battle the Kremlin has baselessly tried to attract parallels with since launching its invasion of Ukraine final 12 months.

After a lull in Russian assaults on civilian targets in current months, which noticed Kyiv go days with out an assault, Moscow has intensified its air raids over the previous week forward of a extensively anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive.

The Ukrainian navy stated the newest Russian raids – which lasted for greater than 4 hours and have been launched shortly after midnight – noticed Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones swarm throughout the nation.

Kyiv’s Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko stated practically 60 drones had been launched by Russia, describing it because the “largest” such assault to this point.

He added that each one 36 drones had been destroyed over Kyiv, however 5 folks had been injured by falling particles from downed drones.

The BBC has not been capable of confirm these numbers.

Emergency providers responded after drone wreckage fell on a runway at Zhuliany worldwide airport – one of many metropolis’s two business airports – Kyiv’s navy administration stated.

And civilians have been injured after drone particles hit a residential constructing within the central Shevchenkivskyi district, the administration added.

Elsewhere, within the Black Sea port metropolis of Odesa, a warehouse was set ablaze after eight missiles have been fired at targets by Russian bombers, Ukrainian officers stated.

In a press release, Ukraine’s Crimson Cross stated its warehouse with humanitarian assist was destroyed and all assist deliveries needed to be suspended.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Command, later stated a physique of a person – a safety guard – was pulled from the wreckage.

In a every day replace, the Ukrainian navy’s command stated there had additionally been a wave of missile strikes on the Kherson, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv areas.

Not less than eight folks – together with a baby – have been injured in two villages within the southern Kherson area, native officers stated.

In Zaporizhzhia, the pinnacle of the Russian put in administration, Vladimir Rogov, stated Russian forces hit a warehouse and a Ukrainian troop place within the small metropolis of Orikhiv.

On the jap entrance, the Ukrainian commander of forces within the besieged jap metropolis of Bakhmut stated Russian troops had stepped up shelling, in a bid to take the town by Tuesday’s celebrations.

Russian troops and fighters from the Wagner Group, a personal navy firm, have been attempting to seize Bakhmut for months – regardless of its questionable strategic worth.

In the meantime, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced that 9 Might would from now be celebrated as Europe Day, in keeping with the European Union. The transfer – which wants parliamentary approval – is seen as a pointed rebuke to Russia.

Mr Zelensky stated he had signed a decree that the day would commemorate European unity and the defeat of “Ruscism” – a time period that’s shorthand for “Russian fascism”.

He additionally stated that 8 Might would now formally be a Day of Remembrance and Victory, as marked in lots of international locations world wide.