Ukraine Shoots Down 35 Shahed Drones As Russia Renews Aerial Onslaught

Russia launched a fresh barrage of strikes against Ukraine overnight, Kyiv said on Monday ahead of Russian Victory Day celebrations on Tuesday.

The Kremlin's forces carried out 35 Iranian-made Shahed drone strikes overnight, all of which were destroyed by Ukrainian defenses, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Monday. Shahed drones, also known as "kamikaze" or suicide drones, have been frequently used by Russian forces throughout Moscow's invasion efforts.

Ukrainian forces recorded a further 16 missile strikes overnight, the General Staff added, including in the northeastern Kharkiv area and in the southern regions of Kherson and Odesa. Ukraine's Operational Command South said Russia had launched Kh-22 missiles, although some did not reach their target, and emergency services were tackling fires.

"In addition, 61 airstrikes and 52 enemy shelling from jet fire systems were recorded at our troops and settlements," the General Staff said in an update posted to social media.

Civilians had been killed in the strikes, the General Staff said, without specifying further.

On Monday morning, Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko said Russian forces "staged the most massive attack with kamikaze drones."

He said "almost 60" Shahed drones were launched, with 36 of the unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs] bound for the capital city. "All were shot down by air defense forces," he said, before adding that "debris from several drones" had damaged a residential building on the outskirts of the city.

"Fortunately, there were no casualties," Klitschko said, although five people were injured, including two who were hospitalized, he added.

Newsweek has not independently verified Ukraine's claims but has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Shahed drones have become a common feature of Russia's aerial assaults, offering an inexpensive way to reach Ukrainian targets from a significant range. Slow-moving and recognizable from the distinctive, low-buzzing sound the drones emit as they approach their target, experts say the drones are easy to shoot down, but only if they are spotted in time.

The strikes come on the eve of Russia's Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which commemorate the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany. A highly anticipated national holiday, several regions of Russia and Russian-controlled territories have canceled their annual celebrations in the midst of the war effort.

Throughout April, several regions, including the annexed Crimean peninsula and the border areas of Belgorod and Kursk called off planned military parades, citing "security considerations."

On Saturday, the British Defense Ministry said 21 cities had canceled their parades with the same justification. Although Moscow's parade is likely to go ahead, the government department added, it will be a scaled-back celebration without the president's reception after the spectacle.

"The potential for protests and discontent over the Ukraine war are also likely to have influenced the calculus of the Russian leadership," the ministry said in a post on social media.

On Sunday, Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, of the country's Eastern Group of Forces, said that Russian forces "still hope to capture" the contested city of Bakhmut by May 9.

"Our task is to prevent this," he said in a post to Telegram. In its Monday morning update, the Ukrainian General Staff said "heavy battles" were continuing for the eastern Ukrainian city, which has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the ongoing war.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office said in a statement it had passed a decree to observe May 9 as "Europe Day" in Ukraine, to be marked with other European states. It has been previously been observed in Ukraine later in May.