DANGEROUS SKIES

13 Drones Shot Down Over Kyiv as U.S. Mulls Sending Patriot Defense System

A Ukrainian official said the attack was launched in the dark to make it harder to stop.

Thirteen drones were blasted out of the sky over Kyiv on Wednesday in Russia’s latest airstrike on the Ukrainian capital. Two administrative buildings were damaged in the raid but there have been no immediate reports of injuries. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said Iranian-built Shahed drones were shot down, with explosions reported in the city’s central Shevchenkivskyi district. Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said the attack had been launched in the dark to make it difficult for the drones to be shot down, but the “air defenses worked well.” It comes as officials in Washington, D.C. consider supplying Ukraine with the sophisticated Patriot air defense system after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly asked for more advanced weapons to protect his citizens. Russian officials warn that such a move will be viewed by the Kremlin as an escalation of the conflict.