Russia launched another intense round of attacks on Ukraine's capital Thursday night. Air sirens went off in Kyiv, giving people about 20 minutes to get to a safe area.
Scripps News' Jason Bellini reports that people throughout Kyiv watched as anti-aircraft systems apparently took out a drone over the city's central square.
Ukrainian officials said later on Thursday the drone in question was a friendly Bayraktar BP2 that had gone out of control and had to be shot down. There were no deaths or injuries reported, and Ukraine is working to establish a cause of the malfunction.
City officials say the drone caused a fire when it landed.
The incident came just hours after Russia launched its most powerful strike on Kyiv since the beginning of the year.
Ukrainian air forces said they destroyed 18 out of 24 kamikaze drones overnight.
Russia claims Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin in drone attacks
Ukraine has denied any involvement in the alleged attempted drone attacks, which Russia has decried as a "terrorist act."
This barrage of attacks comes as Moscow has accused Ukraine of making an assassination attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin using a drone strike at the Kremlin. Ukraine has vehemently denied any involvement.
It's not just Kyiv under intense attack. Odesa, in the south of Ukraine, is being bombarded. Russia launched 15 kamikaze drones there; three managed to evade the Ukrainian Air Defense and hit an educational building and dorms.
Frontline cities and towns in Ukraine have been coming under widespread attack. Kherson, in southeast Ukraine, has been pummeled by Russia within the last 24 hours. The death toll from the Russian shelling there is now 23. Nearly 50 people have been wounded in attacks on areas including a gas station, a grocery store, and a railway station.
A curfew is being placed on the city of Kherson for 65 hours starting Friday.
Ukraine has been on high alert after Russia downed a drone over the capital Moscow. On Thursday Russian officials also placed blame on the U.S.for the attack.
Ukraine fears Russia will use the recent drone exchanges as a pretext for more attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
