🔴 Live: Ukraine says its air defences downed most Russian drones in pre-dawn attack

Issued on: 04/05/2023 – 07:22

7:06am: Ukrainian air defences destroy 18 out of 24 Russian drones over Kyiv

Ukrainian air defences said they downed 18 out of 24 kamikaze drones that Russia launched in a pre-dawn attack on Thursday.

In a statement, Kyiv city administration said that all missiles and drones targeting the Ukrainian capital for the third time in four days have been destroyed.

“The Russians have attacked Kyiv using Shahed loitering munitions and missiles, likely the ballistic type,” the administration said.

Out of 15 Shahed kamikaze drones fired at the Black Sea coastal city of Odesa, air defences destroyed 12, while three struck a university compound. There were no casualties, the Ukrainian southern military command said.

3:30am: Zelensky arrives in Netherlands 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to make an official visit to the Netherlands on Thursday, where he will deliver a speech and will have meetings with Prime Minister Mark Rutte and members of parliament, the Dutch government said.

The Dutch foreign ministry said Zelensky was expected to deliver a speech entitled “No Peace Without Justice for Ukraine.”

Citing security concerns, government spokespeople declined to provide further details on Zelensky’s visit, which would be his first to the country. The Ukrainian leader has visited several foreign capitals including London, Paris and Washington, DC since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Dutch news agency ANP reported that Zelensky arrived in the Netherlands by airplane late on Wednesday after a visit to Finland.

3:15am: Explosions heard in Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities 

Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities in the early hours of Thursday morning, officials and media outlets said, with some local authorities reporting that anti-aircraft defences were at work.

Russia has regularly bombarded Ukraine since October last year, striking at a variety of targets. The latest blasts were reported less than 24 hours after Kyiv said 21 people died in a Russian strike on the city of Kherson.

“Air defences are working in the Kyiv region,” the regional military administration said on Telegram. Reuters eyewitnesses in the city said there had been at least one loud blast.

Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne reported explosions in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia. Yuri Malashko, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said on Telegram that anti-aircraft defences were working.

Local media also reported blasts in the Black Sea port of Odesa. Air alerts have been sounded in most of the eastern half of the country, according to an official government map.

3:05am: Part of south Russia oil refinery catches fire after drone attack, reports Russian media

Part of an oil refinery in southern Russia is on fire after it was hit by a drone attack, Tass news agency cited local emergency services as saying early on Thursday.

Tass said the incident occurred at the Ilsky refinery near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It cited a source as saying a fuel reservoir was on fire but gave no details.

Ukraine rarely claims responsibility for what Moscow says are frequent drone strikes against infrastructure and military targets, particularly in regions close to Russia.

Last June the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region, bordering Ukraine, suspended operations after two unmanned aerial vehicles attacked its facilities.

• Key developments from Wednesday, May 3

A senior Ukrainian presidential official said on Wednesday that Kyiv had nothing to do with any drone attack on the Kremlin, adding that such a move would achieve nothing for Kyiv on the battlefield and would only provoke Russia to take more radical action. Russia had accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin with such a drone attack.

This came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Finland for a surprise visit and talks with Nordic leaders.

Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)