Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, at City Hall on Aug. 23, 2023. (Oleksii Samsonov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukrainian air defense intercepted nearly a dozen Shahed drones on the outskirts of Kyiv on Nov. 18, Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, reported via Telegram.
Popko said that Russian forces launched drones from multiple directions the night of Nov. 18.
According to the administration, air defense units successfully destroyed all targets.
No casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure have been reported.
This is the second time this month that Russian forces have targeted Kyiv with drone attacks. Ukrainian air defense intercepted five out of six Shahed drones flying over the capital on Nov. 10.
Ukrainian forces also eliminated one of two cruise missiles launched at Kyiv that same night.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
"The Russians personally visited the central districts of Kyiv, in particular Independence Square, assessed the situation on the spot and further adjusted... the operational plan of neutralizing protest actions with the forceful dispersal of demonstrators," the State Bureau of Investigation said.
"Last night, Poland's airspace was breached 19 times by drones manufactured in Russia. The assessment of Polish and NATO air forces is that they did not veer off course, but were deliberately targeted," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a video statement.
The EU banned most Russian oil imports at the onset of the full-scale invasion in 2022 and previously planned to phase out all energy purchases by the end of 2027.
"Last night the Polish airspace was violated by a huge number of Russian drones," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X, adding that those "that posed a direct threat were shot down."
Ukraine receives funds from frozen Russian assets under the Group of Seven's (G7) Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) mechanism. Within the ERA initiative, Ukraine is expected to get $50 billion in loans that will be repaid using future profits from frozen Russian assets.
Nineteen Russian drones were recorded crossing into Poland on Sept. 10, in what became the largest attack on a NATO member state since the start of Moscow's all-out war against Ukraine.
Poland, NATO’s eastern frontline state, is facing its most serious security challenge in decades. Western officials have warned of the risk of a direct confrontation with Russia in the coming years, but are Poland — and NATO — truly prepared for such escalation?
European leaders denounced Russia on Sept. 10 after Poland downed multiple Russian drones in its airspace, marking the first time a NATO member has destroyed Moscow's military assets over its territory during the war in Ukraine.
The report comes amid an escalating conflict between the SBU, which is loyal to the President's Office, and the NABU, which is seen as more independent from the executive branch.
Francis Farrell
