Russia unleashed hell on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv overnight, killing at least one person and wounding many more.
Multiple waves of air strikes hit the city in what appeared to be the most significant drone attack on the city since the start of the war in February 2022, Serhiy Popko, the head of Ukraine's military administration said.
According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s air defence systems downed at least 40 drones moving towards the city in the early hours of Sunday, with falling debris killing a 41-year-old man and wounding a 35-year-old woman.
"Stay in shelters. The attack is massive!" the mayor said on Telegram.
Today is usually a day of celebration for the once cosmopolitan-now-war-torn city, as the last Sunday of May marks Kyiv Day.
It celebrates the anniversary of its official founding 1,541 years ago and the streets are usually teeming with people visiting the street fairs, live concerts and special museum exhibitions.
“Today, the enemy decided to ‘congratulate’ the people of Kyiv on Kyiv Day with the help of their deadly UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles),” Popko said on the Telegram messaging app.
Popko also confirmed that Russia used the brutal Iranian-made Shahed drones in the attack.
Around 54 Shaheds attacked Ukraine overnight — a record, according to Ukraine’s armed forces, with the country’s air force destroying 52 of those.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is gearing up for its highly anticipated and perhaps historical spring counter-offensive.
The commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi said it could happen anytime soon. He said yesterday on social media: "The time has come to take back what’s ours."
Ukraine is expecting to carry out mass armoured attacks with heavily armed forces to punch through some parts of Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
Oleksiy Danilov — one of the country's most senior security officials — told the BBC: "We are always ready. The same as we were ready to defend our country at any time. And it is not a question of time.
"We have to understand that that historic opportunity that is given to us - by God - to our country, we cannot lose, so we can truly become an independent, big European country."
Meanwhile, reports overnight say Russian forces intercepted two long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles supplied to Ukraine by Britain.
The Russian Ministry of Defence also said it had intercepted shorter-range US-built HIMARS-launched and HARM missiles and shot down 12 drones in the last 24 hours.
Russia did not specify where the interceptions had taken place. Still, it made the announcement in its daily defence ministry briefing, where it provides updates about what it terms its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
