On Friday, CNN reported that Ukraine’s air defense destroyed eight Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones that were targeting Kyiv.
In total, twelve drones were launched by Russia from the Bryansk region on Monday, according to the Ukrainian General Staff. While the 8 targeting Kyiv were destroyed, the drones hit critical infrastructure in the Vinnytsia region and civilian infrastructure in Poltava.
In a post on Telegram, Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said the Iranian attack drones were launched from the north “with the onset of night.” Popko said that based on preliminary data, it appears the attack was carried out by a “new batch” of Shahed drones. Eight of the drones were destroyed as they were approaching Kyiv and no injuries or damage had yet been reported, Popko said.
Meanwhile, Russian drones also attacked Poltava and Vinnytsia in separate overnight attacks.
Dmytro Lunin, the governor of Poltava Oblast said firefighters were putting out fires in the region where civilian infrastructure was damaged but no victims were reported.
No casualties were reported in the attack in Vinnytsia which hit a critical infrastructure facility.
On Monday, the Washington Post reported that Russian authorities in the occupied region of Crimea claimed that the military fended off a Ukrainian attack on the main naval base in Sevastopol.
According to Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-appointed head of the port city, the Russian military destroyed a Ukrainian sea drone as it was attempting to attack the harbor early Monday morning. A second Ukrainian drone blew up, shattering windows in several apartment buildings.
Russian state-run news also reported that an exploding drone from Ukraine was discovered in the forest about 19 miles east of Moscow, according to the Washington Post. However, the drone did not explode.
Ukraine is planning to launch a spring counteroffensive, which observers believe will target the Russian-held southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. If successful, the counteroffensive would enable Ukraine to sever the land corridor between Russian-controlled Crimea and Russia.
