Ukraine war: Russia hits Kyiv with 'biggest drone attack of conflict so far' - Sky News

Kyiv has been hit by what Ukraine's air force described as the largest Russian drone attack of the war so far.

At least five people were injured after Iranian-made kamikaze Shahed drones descended on the capital overnight.

Explosions were heard as the aircraft were intercepted, with buildings damaged across multiple districts.

Writing on Telegram, mayor Vitali Klitschko said apartment blocks and a nursery were hit.

An 11-year-old girl was among the injured, he added.

Image: Residents walk in front of their damaged apartments

'Wilful terror'

Away from Kyiv, the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions were also targeted.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strikes, which came ahead of Ukraine's annual memorial day for victims of the 1932 Holodomor famine, as an act of "wilful terror".

"The Russian leadership is proud of the fact that it can kill," he wrote on Telegram.

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He said more than 70 drones were involved in the attack, most of which were shot down.

The Holodomor Famine

Ukraine recognises the Holodomor famine as a genocide against its people by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

Historians dispute whether the famine, which killed millions of Ukrainians, was a purposefully orchestrated bid to eradicate an independence movement, or a botched nationalisation policy.

It saw Stalin order police to seize grain, livestock, and seed from Ukrainian farms.

Moscow denies the deaths were caused by a deliberate genocidal policy and says Russians and other ethnic groups also suffered.

Ukraine's Holodomor memorial day takes place on the fourth Saturday in each November.

Since Russia launched its invasion last year, President Vladimir Putin has been accused of a similar attempt to starve Ukraine's people.

Ukraine is hosting an international summit to promote its efforts to export grain despite an ongoing Russian blockade of the Black Sea, its main export route.

Russia's winter bombardment

It comes days after Russia launched consecutive nights of drone attacks on Kyiv for the first time in weeks.

Those also used Shahed drones.

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How Ukraine shoots down Russia's drones

The attacks bear similarities to 12 months ago, when - six months after troops retreated from around Kyiv - Russia began targeting Ukraine's energy, military, and transport infrastructure.

Millions were left without energy and heating during the coldest months of the year.

More on Ukraine war:
Has Ukraine's counteroffensive failed?
The importance of David Cameron's trip to Kyiv

Image: The state of the war in Ukraine on day 638

The latest attack has left almost 200 buildings without power, Ukraine's energy ministry said.

Mr Zelenskyy had warned civilians to expect another winter bombardment from Moscow this year.

In a nightly address last weekend, he said: "The closer we are to winter, the more Russians will try to make the strikes more powerful."

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2023-11-25 09:45:00Z
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