Ukraine shoots down 89 Russian drones

Published August 1st, 2024 - 01:52 GMT


This photograph shows a general view of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary destroyed by air strike in the village of Novoekonomichne, Donetsk region, on July 30, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (Photo by Anatolii STEPANOV / AFP)

July 31 (UPI) -- Ukraine's air force shot down 89 Russian attack drones targeting Kyiv and neighboring provinces overnight in one of the largest airborne attacks since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.Air raid warnings were in force for seven hours as waves of drones descended on the capital with at least 36 downed either in Kyiv airspace or on the approaches, the Kyiv City Regional Administration said in a social media post.A further 19 drones were shot down over Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv provinces, authorities said, with the Ukraine Air Force also reporting it had intercepted a Kh-59 cruise missile targeting Mykolaiv province.A 68-year-old man was killed in Kherson and a 73-year-old woman was injured, Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said in an update on social media.The air force said it fended off the attacks with a multi-pronged defense that drew on fire groups, tactical aviation, army aviation, anti-aircraft missile units and electronic warfare.No other deaths or injuries were reported but 13 buildings, including one in Kyiv, were damaged by falling debris from downed drones.Separately, Russian artillery fire caused damage across a wide swath of the south and east of the country over the past day killing at least one person and injuring four in Kherson province, including a child, and killing another person in Toretsk near Bakhmut in Donetsk and injuring three others.In a post on social media, Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said high-rise buildings, private homes, garages and cars were damaged in Novohrodivka, northeast of Donetsk City, while in Grodivka 15 private houses, a two-story building, four shops, an administration building and a coffee shop were damaged by anti-aircraft guns and artillery.One person was injured in Mykolaivka and houses in Kramatorsk district were damaged while in Virolyubivkn houses and a power line were damaged, according to Filashkin.Three people were injured in the village of Oleksandrivka, 27 miles west of Kherson City. The two men and a woman suffered blast injuries from mines and artillery, according to Kherson Gov. Prokudin.