Russian drone strikes hit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Wedensday morning.
Kyiv and the surrounding area were targeted in the latest wave of Russian strikes. Thirteen Russian drones targeted energy infrastructure in the region but no energy facilities were actually damaged.
“Thanks to the brilliant work of the air defence forces, the energy infrastructure facilities were not damaged (on Wednesday) – all 13 drones were shot down,” Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian national power grid operator, said on the Telegram messaging app.
The drones were said to have been provided to Russia by Iran.
In the capital, five buildings were damaged by the drone strikes but no casualties have been reported, according to the Associated Press.
The head of the Kyiv city administration, Serhii Popko, wrote on Telegram that the strikes had come in two waves.
He said that shrapnel from the intercepted drones damaged one administrative building. Meanwhile four residential buildings sustained minor damage.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, made a brief video statement, in which he explained how the “terrorists” had fired 13 Iranian-made drones, but that all had been intercepted.
The president thanked Ukraine’s air defence forces for shooting down the drones.
He said: “This morning the terrorists launched 13 Shahed [drones]… all 13 were shot down by our air defence forces. Well done guys. I’m proud!” he said, before adding: “Don’t ignore the air raid alerts.”
The attacks show how Ukraine’s biggest city is still vulnerable to Russian attacks which have devastated infrastructure and other population centres in recent weeks, although mostly in the country’s east and south.
Ukraine has, however, been more and more successful at catching Russian air attacks on its energy infrastructure.
In the last major attack which took place on 5 December, Ukraine said that it had shot down 60 out of the 70 rockets fired by Russia.
