Kyiv, Ukraine
CNN
 — 

Russia has launched one of many largest drone assaults on Ukraine for the reason that conflict started, primarily focusing on in a single day the area in and across the capital Kyiv, in line with the Ukrainian navy, which mentioned all 89 drones fired had been shot down.

It marks the biggest assault on the capital thus far this 12 months, and the seventh time Russia has focused Kyiv this month, navy officers mentioned on Wednesday.

The “large” assault lasted greater than seven hours and the drones got here in two waves, Kyiv officers mentioned, including that “not a single drone reached its goal.”

There have been no hits to residential or essential infrastructure and no casualties within the Kyiv area, in line with regional navy head Ruslan Kravchenko. Nevertheless, 13 homes had been broken and rescuers extinguished one hearth brought on by the downed drones. “The vast majority of the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] particles fell exterior of the settlements,” he added.

Dramatic video launched by the Ukrainian Air Power exhibits one drone on hearth, falling from the sky and touchdown in a discipline — inflicting a big cloud of smoke however no seen harm.

Russia additionally attacked the nation’s Mykolaiv area with an X-59 guided missile from the airspace of the occupied Kherson area, which Ukraine mentioned it additionally shot down. Nevertheless, separate assaults on japanese and southern Ukraine killed a minimum of two individuals Wednesday morning.

The Kremlin didn’t touch upon the assaults in its common briefing with reporters on Wednesday.

Ukrainian Air Power Commander Mykola Oleshchuk referred to as the drone barrage focusing on Kyiv “one of the vital large assaults by Shahed-131/136” drones, evaluating it to the Russian assault on New 12 months’s Eve by which 90 Shaheds had been launched.

“Identical to then, immediately the Ukrainian air protection has withstood and repelled a large assault by enemy drones,” he mentioned. “Cellular hearth teams of all of the Ukrainian Defence Forces, tactical aviation of the Air Power and Military Aviation of the Land Forces, anti-aircraft missile models and digital warfare models of the Air Power had been concerned in repelling the air assault.”

Throughout one other wave of aerial assaults days earlier than the New 12 months’s Eve vacation, Russia fired an unprecedented variety of drones and missiles at targets throughout Ukraine, killing a minimum of 31 individuals and injuring greater than 150 others, in line with Ukrainian officers on the time.

Since then, Ukraine has repeatedly pleaded for allies to offer extra air protection programs.

“Ukrainians can absolutely defend their skies from Russian strikes once they have enough provides,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned Wednesday.

“The identical degree of protection is required towards Russian missiles and the occupier’s fight plane. And this may be achieved. We’d like sufficiently brave selections from our companions — sufficient air protection programs, sufficient vary,” Zelensky added. “And Ukrainians will do all the things appropriately and exactly.”

The Biden administration introduced on Monday a brand new deadly help package deal for Ukraine totaling about $1.7 billion and largely consisting of missiles and ammunition for missile, artillery and air protection programs that the US has beforehand offered to Ukraine.

Deaths in japanese and southern Ukraine

In southern Ukraine, a 68-year-old man in Kherson was killed in a drone strike on Wednesday morning, in line with the area’s navy head. A 73-year-old lady was additionally injured in that assault, and elsewhere within the area three individuals had been injured in Russian shelling, the official mentioned.

Within the Donetsk area, one resident within the metropolis of Toretsk was killed, and 4 others had been injured in assaults elsewhere.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces mentioned it can “proceed to successfully hit essential navy targets of the Russian occupiers,” claiming that on Tuesday night time Ukraine carried out a strike on a weapons and navy gear storage facility close to town of Kursk, Russia.

The governor of Russia’s Kursk area mentioned a fireplace broke out at a facility there “after an assault by the Ukrainian armed forces.”

CNN’s Michael Conte contributed to this report.