Russia LAUNCHes A Large-Scale Drone Attack, President Zelensky Calls Ukraine's Military 13 Shahed

Illustration of the launch of the Shahed-136 drone. (Twitter/@inbarspace)

JAKARTA - Russia launched a large-scale drone strike in a few weeks on Wednesday, with Ukrainian officials saying their air defenses were successful in preventing serious damage.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the explosion had rocked the central Shevchenkivskyi District and two administrative buildings had been damaged, but said there were no casualties.

In one of the Kyiv districts, residents said they heard the sound of the Iranian Shahed drone - known as "moped" by the Ukrainians because of their loud engine rush - followed by a strong explosion in a building next to their home.

"I've been in the kitchen, I heard everything, I heard'moped' trying and I ran into the bathroom," said Yana, 39, who said she was preparing to work.

Nearby, the brick building lost part of its roof and the window of a nearby residential apartment block has been destroyed. Pieces of bricks and metal roof sheets lay on snowy soil and the site was closed.

Inside the damaged building wall, the drone's white tail is visible on the ground. On it is written M529 Geran-2 and a handwritten message: "For Ryazan!!!", a clear revenge message.

Russia last week accused Ukraine of carrying out drone attacks on its two air runways, including one in the Ryazan region.

Ukrainian officials say Russia used Iranian-made Shahed drones for the attack.

Russia, which denies terrorism allegations, recently used long-range missiles for attacks it said could be justified militarily. Meanwhile, Kyiv said the attack was meant to injure civilians.

"The terrorists started this morning with 13 Shahed. All 13 were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, according to preliminary information. Good work, friends, I am proud," said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the attack was deliberately carried out during the dark day to make it difficult to shoot down the drone.

Ihnat said Russia had used about 400 drones since the first to be shot down by Ukraine in mid-September and it was unclear whether Russia used a new batch or not using old stock.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, has been launching a series of missile attacks against energy infrastructure since October. Ukrainian network operators said energy facilities were not experiencing any damage in Wednesday's attack.

It is known, the airstrike warning was lifted three hours after the drone strike began.