Zelensky 'Proud' After Foiled Russian Attack on Kyiv

Air defense systems reportedly shot down all 13 drones
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 14, 2022 7:54 AM CST
Zelensky 'Proud' After Foiled Russian Attack on Kyiv
A tax office building that have been heavily damaged by Russian shelling, is seen through the fence, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022.   (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

For the first time in weeks, Russia launched a major drone attack on Ukraine's capital of Kyiv on Wednesday. Ukrainian officials said all 13 drones launched at the city in a pre-dawn attack were shot down and no one appeared to be injured. "All 13 were shot down by our air defense forces. Well done, guys. I'm proud," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a brief video posted on Telegram, per the Guardian. Ukraine's grid operator said there was no damage to energy facilities. Still, Kyiv only has two-thirds of the power it requires, the head of the YASNO power company said in a Facebook post, per Reuters.

The head of the Kyiv city administration said five buildings suffered minor damage during two waves of attacks—including one hit by shrapnel from intercepted drones, per the Guardian. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two administrative buildings were damaged. A 39-year-old woman tells Reuters she was getting ready for work when she heard the distinct whirring of an Iranian Shahed drone, followed by a powerful explosion at a neighboring building. The drone was marked "M529 Geran-2" and featured a handwritten message reading "For Ryazan!!!"—an apparent reference to the Dec. 5 attack on a military airbase in the Russian city, in which three soldiers were fatally wounded, according to the outlet.

"One man, unfazed, pushed his son on a swing set on a nearby playground" as clean-up crews worked at damaged tax office building, per the AP. "I want this all to be over," the woman tells Reuters. "For [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, that bastard, to die. Those are the only emotions." Russians also fired rocket launchers at the regional administration building in the southern city of Kherson, damaging two floors, per the Guardian. "In a potentially pivotal move," Washington is finalizing plans to send its advanced Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, the outlet adds, noting an announcement could come as soon as Thursday. The Kremlin has said such systems would become targets. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)

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