Ukraine shoots down Russia-fired drones, its own UAV over Kyiv

Kyiv, May 5 (EFE).- Ukraine’s air defenses shot down several Iran-made Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) launched by Russia, as well as its own malfunctioning Bayraktar drone above Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities reported Friday.

Russia on Thursday launched 24 Shahed drones against Ukrainian territory, with Ukraine shooting down 18 of them, according to its General Staff of the Armed Forces’ daily report, which did not specify how many were launched against Kyiv.

Also Thursday, at around 8pm during a scheduled flight, the Bayraktar TB2 UAV lost control, the air force said on Telegram.

“Since the uncontrolled presence of UAVs in the sky of the capital could lead to undesirable consequences,” it was decided to destroy the device, it added.

“It is probably a technical malfunction, the reasons are being established. There were no casualties or injuries as a result of combat operations and the fall of UAV wreckage,” the air force concluded.

Videos posted on social media show the malfunctioning Turkey-made drone flying over the emblematic Maidan square in central Kyiv.

In the last sequence of the video, the drone is shot down by a projectile to the cheers of the people watching from the streets below.

As a result of the downing of Russian-sent drones in the center of Kyiv, two fires broke out in two neighborhoods, but did not cause fatalities or injuries.

Russia usually attacks Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with drones at dawn and not in the evening as it did on Thursday, causing shock, uncertainty and anguish among many residents of the capital. EFE

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