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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of Russian drones targeted Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, in an eight-hour nighttime attack, authorities said Thursday as Russia kept up its relentless pounding of Ukraine after almost 1,000 days of war.
Lone Russian drones and also swarms of drones entered Ukrainian airspace from various directions and at a variety of altitudes, officials said, in what was an apparent attempt to stretch air defense systems and unnerve city residents.
Ukrainian air defenses “neutralized” three dozen drones, but falling debris caused damage to a hospital as well as residential and office buildings in Kyiv, local authorities said. A fire was ignited on the 33rd floor of an apartment building.
At least two people were reported injured.
Drone attacks on Kyiv have recently been occurring almost every day, with nighttime explosions and the continuous buzzing sound of drones keeping the city on edge. Russia is deploying about 10 times more Iranian-made Shahed drones than it was this time last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this week.
Ukraine’s forces are struggling to match the might of Russia’s military, which is much bigger and better equipped. Western support is crucial for Ukraine to sustain the costly war of attrition. The uncertainty over how long that aid will continue deepened this week with Donald Trump elected as the next U.S. president. Trump has repeatedly taken issue with U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Russia, meanwhile, is trying to grind down Ukraine’s appetite for the fight and sap the West’s support for Kyiv by drawing out the conflict.
The Russian barrages mostly involve Iranian Shahed drones, which terrorize civilians, according to Andrii Kovalenko, head of the state Center for Countering Disinformation.
Russia is aiming to save and stockpile its missiles, which are much more powerful than drones, Kovalenko claimed on Thursday, though Russia has used missiles effectively in its campaign to knock out Ukraine’s power grid.
Also, the drone attacks gradually wear down Ukraine’s air defenses, making it more vulnerable to future missile launches.
During the day on Thursday, Russia launched five attacks using missiles and glide bombs on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least four people and injuring 18. The attacks also damaged residential buildings and a hospital, Ukraine’s National Police said.
The injured included three children — a four-month-old girl and two boys, aged 1 and 10, officials said.
Power outages were reported in the Zhytomyr region, which borders Kyiv to the west, following a Russian attack there, according to the energy company Zhytomyroblenergo.
Another Russian drone attack injured one person in the southern city of Odesa, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said, and drone debris damaged an 11-story residential building.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine