Russia attacks Kyiv, Odesa with kamikaze drones; Ukraine reports downing 18 of 24 Shaheds

Russia’s military attacked Ukraine with Iranian Shahed-136/131 drones, Ukraine’s Air Force reports.

The Ukrainian military states a total of 24 UAVs were launched, and 18 of those were downed. The drones were launched from Russia’s Bryansk region and the Sea of Azov, Ukraine’s Armed Forces note.

Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson of the Odesa governor, has stated that 15 Shaheds reached the Odesa region, and 12 of them were taken down. Three of those drones hit an educational facility, he says. The fire was put out, and no people were hurt.

The attack was also reported by the Kyiv city administration: its officials say Kyiv was attacked by Iranian kamikaze drones and missiles, “most likely ballistic ones”. Their number has yet to be clarified. All of those were taken down, claiming no lives and causing no damage, the officials say.

Air raid alert was heard in many Ukrainian regions last night, including the regions of Kyiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa. The air raid alert lasted over 3.5 hours in the city of Kyiv.

Russia accused Ukraine of attempting a drone attack on Vladimir Putin’s office in the Kremlin yesterday. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that Putin was not in the Kremlin during the attack. The Russian side “reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit,” the Kremlin added. 

The country’s Investigative Committee has initiated charges on the account of a terror attack. Ukraine’s authorities state that Kyiv has nothing to do with the drone attack. The US-based Institute for the Study of War believes the drone attack on the Kremlin was likely a false flag staged by Russia “in an attempt to bring the war home to a Russian domestic audience and set conditions for a wider societal mobilisation”.