Praise The Ukrainian Air Force After Russia's Massive Drone Attack, President Zelensky: You Are Heroes

The impact of the Russian drone attack on Kyiv on May 28. (Wikimedia Commons/State Emergency Service of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised his country's air defense forces, after Russia launched its biggest drone strike against Kyiv since the war began.

"You are heroes," President Zelensky said after military commanders said most of the kamikaze drones launched by Russia had been brought down.

But two people were killed and several others injured in the rubble of buildings as a result of attacks launched by the Moscow army.

Russia has stepped up its attack on Kyiv in recent weeks, seeking to overwhelm the capital's defenses.

The attack before dawn took place on the last Sunday of May, when the capital Ukraine celebrated Kyiv Day, the anniversary of the city's establishment 1,541 years ago. That day is usually marked by street bazaars, live concerts and special museum exhibitions, which are planned to be held this year too, but on a smaller scale.

Meanwhile, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko described the attacks carried out as "massive", saying drones "arrived from several directions at once".

Several buildings, including tobacco factories, caught fire after being hit by fragments of a drone.

Elsewhere, in Zhytomyr City in northwest Ukraine, at least 26 residential buildings and schools and medical units were damaged, according to online news site Ukrayinska Pravda.

Kyiv Anastasiia resident said he was asleep at home when he was awakened by the sound of a drone flying "very close" to his window.

"I then saw a big flash of light inside the flat... so bright that I couldn't see anything," he told the BBC, adding that the sound of the explosion sounded "two or three seconds after the flash. It was very loud, like thunder".

"The bright light turns into total darkness. I want to check if there is damage. I don't understand what happened. I was in shock so I didn't feel afraid. I don't understand if I and my flat are fine," he said.

Ukrainian military commanders said Ukrainian air defense forces had shot down 58 of the 59 Iranian-made drones launched by Russia.

"Every time you shoot down enemy drones and missiles, lives are saved... you are a hero," President Zelensky said, praising his air force.

"Most of the destruction could have been avoided, and most of the lives that Shahed's (drone) could have taken were saved. I thank everyone who made it possible," President Zelensky added in his evening address.

In its recent attack, Russia - which launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022 - has used so-called kamikaze drones as well as various cruise and ballistic missiles.

Analysts say Moscow is trying to drain and damage Ukraine's air defenses ahead of its long-expected counter-attack.

Separately, one of Ukraine's most senior security officials said on Saturday his country was ready to launch such an operation.

Oleksify Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said the attack to retake territory from President Vladimir Putin's occupation forces could begin "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or within a week".

Ukraine has been planning retaliatory attacks for months. But they need as much time as possible to train troops and receive military equipment from Western allies.

Meanwhile, Russian troops have prepared their defenses in the territory captured in southeastern Ukraine.