Russia Batters Ukraine with Kamikaze Drones

Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has been hit by at least four explosions with President Volodymyr Zelensky blaming “kamikaze drones” sent by Russia.

Zelensky said that Russia’s barrage of drone and missile attacks across his country would not “break” Ukrainians.

“All night and all morning, the enemy terrorizes the civilian population,” he said. “Kamikaze drones and missiles are attacking all of Ukraine. The enemy can attack our cities but it won’t be able to break us.”

AFP's @YasuyoshiChiba captured the moment a drone approached to attack Kyiv, and the immediate aftermath of the strikes pic.twitter.com/9Sd1mxgLku

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 17, 2022

Zelensky confirmed a residential building in Kyiv had been hit. The mayor of the capital said two people had been trapped underneath the rubble.

BBC reports that Kyiv reverberated to the rattle of gunfire as anti-aircraft batteries frantically tried to shoot them down. Video on social media appeared to show one interception.

These guys shot down "Shahed" drone with machine guns and pistols this morning in Kyiv pic.twitter.com/eSKXSdCTbD

— ТРУХА⚡️English (@TpyxaNews) October 17, 2022

The explosions on Monday began at around 06:30 local time (03:30 GMT), and there were at least five in total. The most recent was at around 08:10 local time.

Two were close to the city center, with sirens and car alarms heard across the area.

A week ago, the capital was hit by Russian missiles at rush hour, part of nationwide attacks which left nineteen dead.

Russia uses kamikaze drones in Ukraine supplied by Iran

Last week, Zelensky said Iranian drones were used in Russian attacks on energy infrastructure in several Ukrainian cities. Tehran, however, denies supplying Russia with weapons for the war.

Ukraine says the Iranian-made drones are repainted and given Russian names before they are used in strikes across the country by Russia.

According to The Washington Post, Iran is preparing to supply Russia with short-range Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles capable of reaching targets three hundred to seven hundred kilometers away, respectively.

Iran is also getting ready to supply additional unmanned aerial vehicles, including dozens of Mohajer-6s and kamikaze drones known as the Shahed-136. They carry explosives and crash into targets at a distance of up to 2,400 kilometers, the American newspaper reported.