The Ukrainian military shot down one of their own drones

At first there was talk of further Russian attacks. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military announced that one of their own drones was shot down over Kiev. This had a malfunction. An air alert had previously been triggered.

Apparently it was not another Russian attack on Kiev, as initially announced by the city’s military administration. The Ukrainian air defense has shot down a drone of its own armed forces over the capital Kiev, according to the air force. Military had lost control of the unmanned aerial vehicle, it said in a statement distributed on Telegram. In order to avoid possible “undesirable consequences”, it was decided to shoot down the Turkish-type “Bayraktar” drone. “It’s a pity, but that’s the technology, and cases like this happen,” the Air Force said.

In the evening, an air alarm was raised in Kiev and the surrounding area. Loud and violent explosions could be heard for about 20 minutes. The drone burst into flames and black smoke rose near the government district. Many people watched the shooting down from a large pedestrian bridge or from the car. Video footage posted on social networks showed the drone being shot down over central Kiev. The air alert was lifted after a short time.

According to Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a four-storey shopping center in central Kiev was hit by falling debris and caught fire. Glass and part of the facade were destroyed.

Launch of drones over the Kremlin

On Wednesday night, Russia reported the shooting down of two drones over the Kremlin, for which Moscow blames Ukraine. This vehemently rejects any participation. Russia attacked Ukraine the following night with more than 20 combat drones. According to Ukrainian sources, 18 of them were shot down. The head of the Kiev military administration, Popko, commented: Since the beginning of the year, Kiev has not been attacked as intensively as in the past few days.

With information from Andrea Beer, Kyiv.