Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the country’s air defense forces shot down all 13 Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during a raid on December 14.
“This morning, the enemy launched 13 (drone) Shahed. All 13 were shot down by our air defense. You guys did a great job. I feel proud!”, General President Zelensky announced in a video posted on Telegram today December 14.
Zelensky urged Ukrainians to “not ignore air strikes” after the latest raid on the capital Kiev.
The mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, said that at dawn on December 14, alarms in the capital Kiev and surrounding areas sounded simultaneous, about 20 minutes before the appearance of loud explosions. Klitschko confirmed that the air defense system in Kiev was activated and shot down the Russian Shahed UAVs.
According to initial information from the Kiev authorities, two administrative buildings in the central district of Shevchenkivskyi were damaged by debris from the downed drone. Serhii Popko, a Kiev official, also said that the Russian attacks took place in two waves and that debris from the drone damaged one administrative building, and four residential buildings were damaged. mild harm.
Kiev authorities confirmed there were no casualties following the incident.
Russia has not yet commented on the raid on Kiev this morning.
The Shahed is a drone that Ukraine and the West accuse Iran of supplying to Russia for use in its wide-ranging raids on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since early October, which Tehran and Moscow both deny. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian admitted in October that Iran had at one point sold UAVs to Russia, but in very small quantities and several months before the war in Ukraine began.
The US has long accused Moscow of buying Iranian drones, violating sanctions on Tehran, and then making some modifications to turn them into Russian-made assets and used for military operations in Ukraine. The US also believes that Russia and Iran are cooperating to set up a UAV production facility. Kiev officials say the drones hit targets across Ukraine.
UAVs play an important role in the conflict in Ukraine. Russia began conducting large-scale drone and missile strikes against energy infrastructure across Ukraine in early October. Moscow says the move is aimed at stemming the flow of Western weapons. West into Ukraine and weaken Kiev’s military capabilities.
Ukrainian officials estimate that the Russian raids damaged more than 50% of the country’s energy infrastructure, severely disrupting the supply of electricity to millions of people. In response to Russia’s ambush tactics, Ukraine called on its Western allies and partners to provide modern air defense complexes as well as electrical equipment to help it overcome the current energy crisis.
