Ukrainian officials said Monday, May 29, the country’s air defenses shot down more than 40 targets as Russia carried out a second consecutive overnight attack on Kyiv.
“Another difficult night for the capital,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. He said there were no reported injuries from the attack.
Serhiy Popko, head of the city’s military administration, said Russian forces used a combination of cruise missiles and Shahed drones to target Kyiv for the 15th time in May.
The consistent aerial attacks have come ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive that Ukrainian leaders have said will seek to reclaim territory Russia seized since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine early last year.
Ukraine’s air force said in total, air defenses shot down 29 of 35 drones and 37 of 40 missiles Russia launched overnight.
The attacks came a day after what officials called Russia’s “most massive attack” on Kyiv that involved 54 drones.
Iran sanctions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced a bill Sunday proposing 50 years of additional sanctions against Iran.
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said the bill was a response to what Kyiv says is Tehran’s weapons supplies to Moscow.
The draft includes a complete ban on trade with Iran, on investments, and transferring technologies.
If the bill becomes law, Ukraine will forbid Iranian transit across the Ukrainian territory as well as use of its airspace and freeze Iranian assets.
Kyiv and its allies say Iran has been supplying Russia with arms, including hundreds of drones, since Moscow invaded Ukraine last year. Tehran rejects the allegations.
Initially, Iran denied supplying Shahed drones to Russia but later said it had provided a small number before the conflict began. – gb
