KYIV (Reuters) – Russia launched more than 2,000 attack drones at civilian and military targets across Ukraine last month, Kyiv’s military said on Friday, as Kremlin forces press a grinding offensive on the front line of their February 2022 invasion.
Moscow has carried out regular air strikes on Ukrainian towns and cities, with the capital Kyiv coming under attack 20 times in October alone, according to city officials.
Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement it had intercepted 1,185 of the 2,023 drones launched last month and that another 738 were “locationally lost”.
“In total, since the beginning of 2024, the enemy has launched 6,987 attack UAVs on the territory of Ukraine. Enemy drones mostly targeted civilian and critical infrastructure,” it said.
Ukraine said on Friday it had destroyed 31 drones and one missile in Russia’s latest overnight strike, which damaged residential buildings in at least two regions and a fire station in the southern Odesa region.
Russia has denied aiming at civilians and said power facilities are legitimate targets when they are part of Ukrainian military infrastructure.
Ukraine is girding for another season of power cuts amid the threat of new Russian attacks on the country’s energy system, which had already been weakened by a series of strikes earlier this year.
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
