Russia targets Kyiv in overnight drone attack
Mike Brest
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Russian forces fired more than a dozen drones, officials in Ukraine announced Friday, one day after Moscow blasted multiple missiles in its most recent attack against the country’s infrastructure.
Ukraine’s air force said all 16 self-detonating Iranian-made drones that attacked the country were destroyed overnight by the East and Center Air Commands.
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According to an Air Force Command statement, Russia’s drones hit “Ukraine from the southeastern and northern directions. To overcome the air defense system of Ukraine, the enemy tried to use the Dnipro riverbed. All 16 kamikaze drones were destroyed by the forces and equipment of the ‘Skhid’ (East) and ‘Center’ air commands, as well as air defense units of other units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.”
Five of them were shot down in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram that two others were shot down outside of Kyiv.
The drone attack overnight Friday came hours after Russian forces launched what the Ukrainian armed forces described as “one of the most massive missile attacks” since the war began more than 10 months ago. Russia has “launched a total of 85 missile strikes, 35 air strikes, and 63 strikes from multiple rocket launch systems” over the past day or so, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said, according to Reuters.
Russian forces have targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since October. Their aim, according to Western officials, is to weaponize the winter conditions by forcing millions of civilians to face the brutal conditions at times without electricity, heat, or running water. Officials have also described these actions as possible war crimes.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin also met on Friday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two authoritarian leaders signed a communique outlining their vision for a successful Moscow-Beijing relationship, but Putin’s war in Ukraine has ostracized him on the world stage.
Putin invited Xi to visit Moscow in the spring, and he also urged the two countries to strengthen their military partnership.