Russian forces used a new batch of Iranian-made Shahed "kamikaze" drones to strike Ukraine for the third day in a row, targeting Kyiv for the first time in 25 days, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update.
The D.C.-based think tank cited Ukraine's Southern Command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk as saying that Russian forces waited until a new delivery of Shahed drones had arrived in order to use them for renewed strikes against Ukraine. She also noted that Russia's use of missiles had decreased, the ISW said.
Out of the 26 drones that Russia launched at Ukraine on April 19-20, Ukrainian forces shot down 21 and of the 12 drones Russia launched on April 20-21, Ukraine shot down eight, the ISW said in its update, citing the Ukrainian General Staff.
Russia targeted Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv oblasts in this latest bout of drone attacks, the ISW reported.
The attacks caused damage to civilian infrastructure in Vinnytsia and Poltava oblasts. The Kyiv City Military administration did not report any damages from the drone attacks on Kyiv, but noted the strikes were the first after a 25-day lull of attacks on the capital.
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