Russia targets Kyiv with largest drone attack of conflict, killing one

Russia launched its largest drone attack of the conflict yet on Ukraine's capital Kyiv, leaving one person dead and sparking fires across the city.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said Russia unleashed 54 Iranian Shahed drones early Sunday - 52 of which were shot down.

But the city's mayor, Vitali Klitshko, said a 41-year-old man died following the attacks, while falling drone debris at a gas station injured a 35-year-old woman.

Kyiv has been targeted several times this month but despite this fatalities are rare.

Falling drone debris also sparked fires in buildings across the capital, Klitshko said on Telegram.

Following the barrage, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Ukrainian air defenses as "heroes."

"You look up to destroy enemy missiles, aircraft, helicopters, and drones. Every time you shoot down enemy drones and missiles, lives are saved," the president said.

As well as trying to intimidate Kyiv residents, Moscow may be using the drone strikes to force Kyiv to expend valuable munitions shooting them down as well as get a sense of where air defenses are.

Shahed drones cost roughly 20 times less than a missile and so for Russia are a cheap way to inflict damage.

On Sunday, Ukraine's capital is due to mark Kyiv Day, the anniversary of its official founding 1,541 years ago.

The attacks come amid rumors of an imminent Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at recapturing Russia-controlled territory.

Ukraine's top general hinted the campaign could come soon, saying in a video "the time has come to take back what is ours."

Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian forces shelled the city of Nikopol with heavy artillery, said Serhii Lysak, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region's military administration.

"The enemy fired again on the civilian population with heavy artillery. The aggressor shelled Nikopol twice during the night, damaging six private houses and two outbuildings," Lysak wrote in a Telegram post.

A gas and main power line were damaged in the attack, but no casualties were reported, according to Lysak.