Earlier this month, Kyiv warned its residents about Moscow’s increasing use of Kamikaze drones built in Iran to attack infrastructure and civilian targets.

Attack on Kyiv

Four people, including a pregnant woman and her husband, were killed in Russia’s morning attack on Kyiv with approximately 30 kamikaze drones on Monday. The incident happened, days after Vladimir Putin announced that there won’t be any “massive strikes” on Ukraine.

A residential building was attacked in the city’s central Shevchenkivskyi, leaving Victoria and Bohan, both 34, dead, a Ukrainian official reported. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of the city, said that Victoria was six months pregnant.

According to a senior defense official, Iran does appear to have been the supplier of the drones that Russia used to launch attacks inside Ukraine. He added that U.S. data shows Iran has given Russia access to large numbers of military drones that can detonate upon impact. Russian missiles hit the Ukrainian capital a week ago at rush hour as part of widespread attacks that took 19 lives.

Iran’s Shahed-136 ‘kamikaze drone’

• Weapons provided by Iran also known as the Shahid-136, these drones hover over the target, containing explosives that explode on collision, destroying the drone

• Frequently transmits waves that become challenging to detect on radar

• According to the US, Iran intended to ship hundreds of these drones to Russia for only 16.4 lakh rupees each.

• Ukraine has also used “kamikaze drones,” of Iran and the Switchblade model produced in the US.

Ukraine alleges that Moscow imported 2,400 drones from Iran, and these drones were initially used against targets before being deployed to Belarus, last week. 

On Monday morning, Klitschko shared a photo of a wrecked drone, while other media showed a piece of a drone labeled “for Belgorod” in apparent retaliation for military operations on the Russian border city, from where several rocket attacks were done on Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statements

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “four people were killed during the attack, including a young family expecting a child.” Volodymyr Zelenskyy added that search and rescue efforts are still going on. He alleged that the targets were civilians and infrastructure.

“Terror must lose and will lose,” Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel. The president of Ukraine charged Russia with terrorism while expressing his nation’s unwavering determination. The enemy terrorizes the civilian population “all night and all morning,” according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“The whole country is being attacked by kamikaze drones and missiles. In Kyiv, there was an attack on a residence. Although the enemy may attack our towns, they won’t be able to defeat us. The occupiers will only get retribution and the disapproval of future generations. Additionally, we shall win,” said Zelenskyy.  

Furthermore, rocket attacks were reported by Ukrainian officials in the northeastern Sumy region, the central Dnipropetrovsk region, and the southern port city of Odesa. In the southern city of Mykolaiv, where fatal rocket attacks, last week devastated the two top floors of a residential structure, officials reported drone attacks during the course of the night.

Andrii Yermak, the chief of Zelenskyy’s office, demanded additional Western air defense systems as soon as possible.

Updates from the Shevchenkivskyi district

Rescuers in the Shevchenkivskyi looked for survivors in the rubble of an apartment building that partially collapsed during the attack. As several emergency staff and firefighters worked at the site, the roadway was blocked off.  The offices of Ukraine’s energy business were also damaged. It’s possible that the facility was the intended target.

The attacks were referred to as a “genocide of the Ukrainian people” by Mayor Klitschko, he added that “The Russians want Ukraine without Ukrainians.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the Russian border city of Belgorod has seen several attacks. 

• When an energy-generating plant was attacked in Sumy in which four people died.

• Three drone suicide bombers set fire to sunflower oil tanks in the coastal city of Mykolaiv on Sunday night.

In Ukraine, people are starting to identify the low buzzing of the slow-moving drones said Mykhaylo Podolyak, presidential aide from Ukraine, he accused Iran responsible for the murders of Ukrainians.

New sanctions on Iran are being demanded by certain EU foreign ministers, notably those from France and Germany since Iran provided drones to Russia. Josep Borrell, the head of the EU’s foreign policy, said the organization will look into Tehran’s involvement in the war.

Nasser Kanani, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, said his nation is not a “participant in the conflict” despite accumulating evidence that Iranian drones had been deployed, he added, “We have not given weapons to any side.”