Ukraine says downed 71 Russian drones in biggest attack on capital

Ukraine said Saturday it had downed 71 Russian attack drones overnight in what Kyiv authorities said was the biggest attack on the capital since the start of the invasion.

Kyiv’s city administration said five people were injured, including an 11-year-old child.

“The air force destroyed 71 Shahed 131/136 attack UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). The vast majority of them were destroyed in the Kyiv region,” the air force said on social media.

The air alert in the city lasted for six hours and falling drone debris sparked fires and damaged buildings across the capital, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

“The enemy continues the terror,” he said.

The attack came on the day that Ukraine marks Holodomor — the 1930s starvation of millions in Ukraine under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

“More than 70 Shaheds on the night of the Holodomor Remembrance Day… The Russian leadership is proud of the fact that it can kill,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media.