Ukrainian air defenses held against 1,500-strong saturation drone attack
Collapsed apartment building in Kyiv, May 14 (Photo: Serhii Okunev / NV)
Ukraine successfully managed a Russian attempt
to overload its air defenses using over 1,500 kamikaze drones launched over 24
hours, with most damage being caused by missiles, Ukrainian Defense Ministry
adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said on May 14.
Beskrestnov said Ukraine endured one of the heaviest recent attacks and that “there has never been anything like this in the world.” He said about 95% of the drones were shot down or otherwise neutralized; more than 30% were neutralized by interceptor UAVs, a share he said is substantial and still rising.
He added that the proportion of jet powered and guided variants of Shahed drones was small.
“Clearly, the enemy counted on the mass use of conventional Shaheds,” Beskrestnov said in a Facebook post.
Beskrestnov said missiles inflicted the greatest damage, hitting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. He said repeated ballistic strikes on the same sites hours later were especially cynical and appeared aimed at killing rescuers working at the scene.
He said the attack targeted critical infrastructure, railways, and logistics.
Early on May 14, Russia launched one of the heaviest strikes
on Kyiv, using dozens of Shahed drones as well as cruise and ballistic
missiles. In the Darnytskyi district, an apartment building was partially
collapsed by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missiles. At least 12 people were killed,
with search-and-rescue operation still ongoing by end of day. Kyiv will observe
a day of mourning on May 15.
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