Thursday’s Russian assault on Kyiv ranked among the deadliest attacks of the long-running war, not only because residential neighborhoods were hit, but also because Moscow has begun using new jet-powered drones that are far harder to bring down.
The relatively recent addition to Russia’s battlefield arsenal was used in a strike that killed at least 30 people, CNN reported. The drones move too quickly for Ukraine’s mobile air-defense teams and generally must be intercepted by surface-to-air missiles or fighter aircraft.
Capable of reaching speeds of about 310 miles per hour, the drones were first observed causing damage early this year.
“The enemy is using them more and more frequently, and the percentage of jet-powered Shaheds in their arsenal is increasing, which depletes [our] resources,” Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said, according to CNN.
The new drone capability is one of many tactical and technological tools Russia is using to “maximize civilian harm during strikes on Ukraine,” a US-based conflict monitor said, CNN reported.
“Faster-moving drones that are harder for Ukraine to intercept will likely generate increased civilian harm, much as other strike package adaptations have in the past,” the Institute for the Study of War, or ISW, assessed.
Ihnat said the Kyiv barrage was also notable for the number of ballistic missiles involved: 28 out of 77 total missiles fired, a figure he described as a “very, very high number,” according to CNN.
The combination of advanced drones, ballistic missiles and other munitions pounded Kyiv through the night, damaging nearly 130 buildings as residents sought safety in underground shelters.
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About 90% of drones and missiles were intercepted during the attack, Ukraine reportedly said.
On top of the 30 deaths, another 91 people were injured, said the head of the capital’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko. It was the third deadliest attack on Ukraine’s capital since the war began, according to CNN.
He expected the number of dead to keep rising, as he noted, “Rescue crews will work without interruption until all the debris is cleared.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Ireland, but quickly rushed home and visited a nine-floor residential building that was targeted.
He slammed allies for not helping out more with air defenses.
“If our partners had delivered on their promises in a timely manner, I think we could have saved more homes and lives today,” the beleaguered leader said.
“All we ask of our partners is simply to do what we’ve agreed on. We’re not even asking for more.”
Russian Defense Ministry boasted about the “massive attack,” claiming it was retaliation for Ukraine drones strikes on the Vladimir Putin-led country.
With Post wires
