Skip to main content

Russia pummels Kyiv with waves of explosive drones ahead of Ukrainian founding holiday

Russian forces pummeled the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with "Kamikaze" drone attacks throughout the night as the city prepared to celebrate the anniversary of its founding Sunday.

Russia launched 54 Iranian-made drones at Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine, but air defenses shot down 52 of the drones, according to Ukrainian officials. Two people were killed during Saturday night's attack, with falling debris landing on one 41-year-old man and another person dying of unspecified causes, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement.

Kyiv is marking the 1,541-year anniversary since its founding on Sunday.

The assault on Kyiv came in several large waves throughout the night, with air raid sirens blaring for roughly 5 hours.

CHINA, RUSSIA, NORTH KOREA AND IRAN ARE INVESTING IN WAYS TO NUKE US. THE TIME IS NOW FOR MISSILE DEFENSE

Ukraine has been largely successful in warding off Russian missile and drone attacks in recent weeks thanks to the deployment of U.S.-made Patriot missile systems. The defense system has proven more than a match for Russia's long-range attacks, with the vast majority of their explosives being shot down mid-flight.

The Russian military is increasingly resorting to massive Soviet-era bombs in an effort to circumvent Ukrainian air defenses. Russia's bombs, resurrected from Cold War-era ordnance stashes, have two major advantages over missiles in that they have no propulsion system for air defenses to track, and they remain airborne for barely a minute.

ALLEGED PUTIN ASSASSINATION IS ‘FALSE FLAG’ ORCHESTRATED TO BOLSTER RUSSIA'S WAR EFFORT, EXPERTS CLAIM

"This is the evolution of the air war," Ukrainian Air Force Lt. Colonel Denys Smazhnyi recently told the New York Times. "They first tried cruise missiles, and we shot them down. Then they tried drones, and we shot those down. They are constantly looking for a solution to strike us, and we are looking for one to intercept them."

"It’s evolution, countermeasures, evolution, countermeasures. It’s a nonstop process, unfortunately," he added.

UK CONSIDERS ‘FIGHTER JET COALITION’ WITH UKRAINE AS ZELENSKYY MEETS WITH PRIME MINISTER

Russian forces have even gone so far as to retrofit large bombs with wings and navigation systems to extend both their range and lethality, U.S. officials reportedly told the Times.

With no way to counter the bombs themselves, Ukrainian forces must target the planes that drop them, a tall order for a national air force with planes far older than Russia's modern aircraft.

The low-tech bombs have contributed to Ukraine's calls for the U.S. and other Western allies to provide F-16 fighter jets. They say the aircraft would allow them to keep their airspace clear while still maintaining defense against long-range attacks.



from Latest World News on Fox News https://ift.tt/YnXBClq
https://ift.tt/pVeWuq3

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

E. Jean Carroll Says Trump ‘Shattered’ Her Reputation as He Watches in Court

By Maria Cramer via NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/7XH3onr

Daredevil skydiver makes perfect landing on bizarre pool toy: 'Coming for ya'

A daredevil skydiver in the UK made an incredible landing on an inflatable unicorn pool toy, video shows.  Jan Zackl was among a handful of skydivers who participated in an event in Langar, Nottinghamshire, who tried to land on the inflatable unicorn, which looks like it would normally be floating on a pool  "It is safe and it's just a more slippery landing. It was only open to people who had done at least 200 jumps previously - they were the requirements," Hannah Parker of Skydive Langar said of the scene, according to the BBC.  WINGSUIT SKYDIVER IN FRANCE DECAPITATED BY AIRCRAFT'S WING MOMENTS AFTER JUMPING FROM PLANE: REPORTS "It goes very fast and takes a lot of accuracy." The floatie was positioned on a slip-and-slide styled platform, and the video showed Zackl coming in at a high speed before making a turn and lining up with the makeshift landing strip.  TENNESSEE SKYDIVER DIES AFTER ACCIDENT AT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL'S MUSKET BOWL GAME Zack...

DNA test confirms Yevgeny Prigozhin was aboard crashed jet, Russia says

Russian investigators say DNA testing confirms that Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin was aboard the small jet that crashed outside Moscow under mysterious circumstances last week. Russia's Investigation Committee confirmed the identities of all 10 people aboard the craft, which also included Prigozhin's second in command, Dmitry Utkin. Investigators have yet to offer an explanation for why the plane crashed. "As part of the investigation of the plane crash in the Tver region, molecular-genetic examinations have been completed," Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement. "According to their results, the identities of all 10 dead were established. They correspond to the list stated in the flight sheet." Prigozhin's private jet plummeted out of the sky on Wednesday in the Tver region outside Moscow. Residents of a village near the crash site say they heard an "explosion" in the air before the jet come down. WAGNER TROOPS MOURN...