Russian strike kills at least 38 as Kyiv drone barrage enters 5th day
Kyiv is on its fifth straight day of near-constant air raid alerts as Russia shifts to jet-powered drones that outrun Ukraine's interceptors. A Saturday strike killed at least 38 people. Russia fired near 1,500 drones at Ukraine in four days, ~800 jet-powered. Per AP.
Kyiv is enduring its fifth straight day of near-constant air raid alerts as Russia intensifies its drone campaign against the Ukrainian capital and surrounding region. The shift to jet-powered drones is the key change: these fly too fast for many of Ukraine's existing interceptor systems, forcing the country to rely on scarce combat aircraft to bring them down while newer interceptor drones are still being developed. According to President Zelenskyy, four companies have built interceptor drones so far, with one showing the most success. Repeated strikes on warehouses and food distribution hubs in Brovary and Boryspil left four people wounded on Monday and have emptied shelves in some Kyiv supermarkets. A Saturday strike on the region killed at least 38 people, and two major attacks in July killed nearly 50 civilians combined. Russia fired close to 1,500 drones at Ukraine between Thursday and Sunday, roughly 800 of them jet-powered, Zelenskyy said. The timing matters: Russia's defense ministry said Sunday it is preparing 'massive strikes' on Ukraine's power grid, a tactic aimed at leaving civilians without heat and running water as winter approaches. A faster, harder-to-intercept drone fleet gives Moscow more room to sustain that campaign just as the cold sets in.