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Ukrainian air defense systems shot down all 13 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones launched by Russia on Kyiv and the Kyiv region on December 14, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The terrorists began this morning with 13 Shahed-136 drones. Preliminarily, all 13 were shot down by our Ukrainian air defenses. Well done. I'm proud” he said.
The president also urged Ukrainian residents not to ignore air-raid alarms.
The AFU’s Air Force command reported that Russia launched the drones from the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov. The AFU's radar assets detected more than ten barraging munitions and destroyed them.
On Wednesday morning, December 14, Russia attacked Kyiv and the Kyiv region with Shahed-136 kamikaze drones disguised as Russian Geran-2 UAVs. Two administrative buildings and a private home in the village of Vyshneve were damaged as a result, according to Kyrylo Timoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office. On December 7, Russia attacked Ukraine with drones for the first time in three weeks; prior to the attack, British intelligence suggested that Russia’s Iranian drone stocks may have dwindled.
During a visit to the US in late October, Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog said that the country had secret intelligence confirming Russia's use of drones, and Israel was ready to provide it.
Judging by the available pictures of downed Geran-2 drones, which are exact replicas of their Iranian counterparts, Russia could have purchased a batch of kamikaze drones from Iran or assembled the munitions in the country under an Iranian license. Both Russia and Iran have denied the existence of any drone-related deal during the war.