Ukraine says its air defenses shot down 60 of 93 Russian drones as Moscow escalates its airstrikes.
One person was killed and four others wounded when Russian drones targeted the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, military and civilian officials said, as Russia launched shelling across the country.
Ukraine’s air force said its air defenses shot down 60 of 93 Russian drones launched into Ukraine since the early hours of Friday.
Moscow’s forces have escalated airstrikes across Ukraine in recent days, including a New Year’s Eve drone strike targeting central Kiev that killed two people.
In the latest barrage, a truck driver was killed by drone debris, according to Mykola Kalashnyk, acting governor for the Kyiv region.
He said the debris also damaged several houses, injuring four people, including a 16-year-old boy.
Ukraine’s Air Force said another 26 drones were “lost,” in connection with Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones.
In total, Russian drones targeted nine regions across the country including Kiev, officials said.
Residential houses and commercial buildings were also damaged in Donetsk region in the east and Chernihiv region in the north, the military added.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian military said it had carried out a high-precision attack on a Russian command post in Maryino, in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces still hold territory after a major incursion in August.
The Russian military said air defense units had shot down four Ukrainian missiles in the region, and the regional governor said the strikes damaged a high-rise apartment block and other buildings in an adjacent village.
