- Matthew Murphy
- BBC news
Officials inspect a house destroyed after Russian attacks on Kiev
Ukrainian officials confirmed they shot down more than a dozen drones during a Russian attack on the capital Kiev early Wednesday morning.
BBC reporters heard loud explosions shortly after the siren sounded warning of an airstrike.
The explosions rocked the Shevchenkivsky district in the city centre, with air defenses downing what it said were Iranian-made “Shahid” drones.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since October with missiles and drones.
Kiev governor Oleksiy Kuleba accused Russia of “continuing energy terrorism against our country” with the recent wave of drone strikes.
But the director of the national electricity grid, Okrinergo, said Wednesday’s attacks did not destroy any electrical structures and praised the “fantastic work of the air defense forces” in a post on the network’s Telegram account.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces shot down 13 Shahed drones, which he said were all those launched by Russia on Wednesday.
Kuleba said debris from a drone hit an administrative office in the city center and four residential buildings. But a spokesman for the city’s emergency services told Ukrainian media that no casualties were reported in the attack.
A witness, Svetlana, told the BBC that the first attack occurred at 6:30 am local time (4:30 am GMT).
“The noise was like a bicycle, that’s the sound it made. It fell behind the houses and then we heard a big explosion,” he said.
“Winter is coming, how can people survive? My God, what do they want from us? They won’t let the Ukrainians live.”
Another Kiev resident, Anton, told the BBC that shattered glass that fell from the blasts almost hit his sleeping children.
“May this Putin die,” he said, “I didn’t do anything to him, but he did this to me.”
Ukraine had accused Iran of supplying Russia with “kamikaze” gear used in the bloody October 17 attacks, which Iran initially denied.
Iran later admitted that it had sent a limited number of drones to Moscow “many months” before the war broke out.
In response, Ukrainian President Zelensky claimed that this was a lie and that many Iranian drones had been used.
Russia has deliberately targeted Ukraine’s energy grid in recent months in an attempt to demoralize the Ukrainian population.
World leaders have said the attacks on civilian infrastructure amounted to war crimes, but Russian President Vladimir Putin last week defended the attacks, saying they were in retaliation for the Oct. 8 bombing of a Russian bridge linking Crimea annexed by Russia in 2014.
The attacks come amid reports that the United States is preparing to arm Ukraine with the modern Patriot air defense system. Senior military officials told Reuters news agency the announcement could come on Thursday.
The Patriot missile system is among the most advanced missile systems in the world and there are usually few available. And given its long-range capabilities, it can shoot down Russian missiles and drones before they reach the range of Ukrainian cities.
However, Patriot systems, unlike currently available Ukrainian air defense systems, require large crews to operate, and training Kiev forces to use them effectively could take several months.
Russia should view any attempt to arm Ukraine with Patriot missiles as escalating the war. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev – who is now deputy head of the National Security Council – warned of the move last month.
Meanwhile, Ukraine says it secured the release of 64 soldiers captured by Russia during fighting in the eastern Donbass region earlier this year.
Andrei Yermak, director of President Zelensky’s office, said officials secured the release of US citizen Sudi Muriquisi.
Murikizi was arrested by Russian forces during the occupation of the southern city of Kherson in July, where he had been living for more than two years.
He was released from Russian custody last October, but Russian officials prevented him from leaving Donetsk because he lacked identification documents.
