KYIV, Ukraine: Ukraine Thursday stated it had downed 20 Russian drones and two cruise missiles in an overnight assault that killed one and injured at least 4 in the capital Kyiv.
“We have a successful air defence operation,” air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat told national television. “Twenty Shaheds were destroyed — all those flying were downed.”
The 20 Iran-made Shahed attack drones were destroyed “mainly in the Kyiv region”, country’s air force said in a separate statement on Telegram.
The drones had “entered the capital from different directions”, Kyiv’s military administration said on Telegram earlier, adding air defences had destroyed “about a dozen” in the city’s airspace.
Falling debris was reported in five city districts, it said, adding that a 19-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man had been hospitalized with shrapnel wounds.
The air force disclosed that two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles, fired from a naval vessel stationed in the Black Sea, were promptly intercepted by air defences. The impact assessment of an Iskander-M ballistic missile, discharged from Crimea, is still underway as data continues to be gathered.
During the recent NATO summit in Vilnius, the unwavering support of Western nations for Ukraine took centre stage. Ukrainian President Zelensky seized this opportunity to ardently advocate for his country’s inclusion in the alliance. However, he was informed that such membership could only be attained “when allies reach a consensus and certain conditions are met.”
This elusive timeframe, or rather the absence thereof, seemed to have ignited a spark of frustration within President Zelensky. He condemned it as “absurd,” suggesting a conspicuous lack of willingness to extend a formal invitation to Ukraine or grant it full membership status.
Furthermore, President Zelensky voiced apprehension regarding the potential use of Ukraine’s membership as a bargaining chip during post-war negotiations with Russia, a concern not to be taken lightly.
