Ukraine forces shoot down drones as Kyiv hit by explosions

The Ukrainian military has said it shot down 13 Iranian-made drones over Kyiv and the surrounding regionfollowing Russia’s first major drone attack on the capital in weeks.

The assault early on Wednesday, which authorities described as a continuation of Russia’s “energy terror” against the country, came as the US was expected to decide whether to supply Ukraine with its advanced Patriot air defence system.

A wave of Russian drone and missile attacks since October has caused severe damage to Ukraine’s civilian energy and electricity infrastructure as it enters the cold winter months. Unicef, the UN children’s agency, said the two months of air attacks had left “nearly seven million children without sustained access to electricity, heating and water.”

A series of early morning explosions on Wednesday hit the capital and at about 6.30am on Wednesday residents in central Kyiv posted videos in which the sound of a drone flying overhead could be heard, followed by an explosion. Residents also posted pictures of plumes of smoke on the capital’s horizon.

Kyiv’s city administration said two of its administrative buildings had been damaged by the falling debris of a drone. A spokesperson for Kyiv’s rescue services, Svitlana Vodolaga, told Ukraine’s Suspline news there had been no victims.

The city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, wrote in a post on Telegram that there were blasts in the central district of the capital, Shevchenkivskyi, home to many government agencies and buildings. An air raid alert was lifted three hours after it began.

Five buildings in total were reported damaged, underlining how vulnerable Kyiv remains to Russian air assaults even with air defences. Footage from one building hit in the attack showed the white tail of a drone could be seen in the wreckage. It had M529 Geran-2 written on it and a handwritten message “For Ryazan!!!”, an apparent reference to what the Russians say was a Ukrainian attack on an airstrip deep inside Russia earlier this month.

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“Russia continues the energy terror of the country. But we are getting stronger every day,” wrote the head of Kyiv region, Oleksiy Kuleba, on Telegram.

Ukraine has accused Russia of attempting to trigger another wave of migration towards Europe with its attacks on its energy infrastructure. Ukraine’s grid operator said energy facilities had not sustained any damage in Wednesday’s attack, crediting Ukrainian air defences for their “brilliant” work.

Ukraine has already received modern air defence systems from the west, including from the US, though the US has previously resisted supplying Ukraine with the Patriot system and a recent attempt by Poland to get Germany to deploy a Patriot battery into the country was rejected by Berlin.

However, US officials told CNN that the missiles could be delivered in a matter of days after the repeated Russian barrages against Ukrainian cities. The Patriot, which would be the most advanced surface-to-air missile system the west has provided to Ukraine, is usually in short supply, with US allies around the world vying for it.

Ukraine’s national security chief, Oleksiy Danilov, appeared to troll Russia about the delivery on Wednesday by tweeting: “It’s always a pleasure to watch an American classic,” with a film poster for the film Patriot.

The Kremlin on Wednesday said Patriot missile defence systems would be a legitimate target for Russian strikes against Ukraine, should the US authorise them to be delivered.

Ukraine officials have said the country is required to use at least two anti-aircraft missiles for every Russian missile or drone and its stocks are therefore depleting in the face of the repeated Russian assaults.

Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said the Wednesday morning attack had been deliberately timed for when it was dark to make it harder to shoot the drones down. “The air defences worked well.” he said. “Thirteen [drones] were shot down.”

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, praised the air defence systems in a brief video message. “Well done, I am proud,” he said.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, meanwhile posted a muscle emoji with the abbreviation for anti-aircraft systems, in reference to the work of Ukraine’s air defences.

The air raid sirens sounded at shortly before 6am Kyiv time, and just over 10 minutes later the first explosions were reported.

The UK’s ambassador said she was “staying away from windows and hearing explosions outside”.

The latest round of attacks came a day after dozens of countries and international organisations meeting up in Paris responded to a plea from Zelenskiy to help the country withstand Russia’s onslaught on its energy grid.

In a video message from Kyiv, Zelensky said Ukraine needed assistance for its battered energy sector and spare parts for repairs, high-capacity generators, extra gas and increased electricity imports.

US officials claim Moscow has been looking to Iran to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this story