Ukraine war: Barrage of Russian drones intercepted over Kyiv

Ukraine shoots down drones bound for Kyiv

Ukrainian air defences intercepted more than a dozen drones launched at Kyiv overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, according to a military official. 

Ukrainian forces “detected and destroyed nearly 15 aerial targets”, said the head of the capital’s military administration, Sergey Popko.

He wrote on Telegram they were Iranian-made “Shahed” (Martyr) drones, which are built using stolen Western technology, as revealed by Conflict Armament Research, a UK-based organisation. 

It was the 820th air alert in Kyiv since Russia invaded last February, said Popko. The attempted assault lasted three hours. 

“According to the information available at the moment, there were no casualties or damage in the capital,” he added.

The night before Ukraine’s army said it shot down more than 10 drone drones bound for the capital, with falling debris causing minor damage to buildings. 

In July,  Dr Jade McGlynn, Research Fellow in War Studies at King’s College London, told Euronews Russia was deliberately “terror bombing” civilians in a bid to “break their will” to fight. 

She expressed doubts this strategy would work, however, suggesting it could in fact steel public resistance.