Kyiv suffers second night of drone attacks; Zelenskyy calls for operational changes

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November 20, 2023
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The Ukrainian capital Kyiv endured a second successive night of drone attacks on Sunday, local officials said, while its forces claimed to have gained ground in the ongoing battle with Russian troops on the banks of the Dnieper River.

Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on Telegram that a barrage of ammunition was fired by Shahed drones over the capital.

“The enemy’s UAVs were launched by many groups and came to attack Kyiv in waves, from different directions, while constantly changing the vectors of movement along the route,” Popko said.

Air raid sirens were sounded several times in Kyiv, and no casualties or critical damage were recorded in the city according to currently available information, he added.

Ukrainian servicemen of the 123rd Territorial Defense Brigade prepare to fire a mortar over the Dnipro River toward Russian positions, in an undisclosed location in the Kherson region, on November 6, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While Ukraine’s recapture of Kherson city last November was a shock defeat for the Kremlin, Russian forces on the opposing bank still control swathes of territory and shell towns and villages they retreated from. The Dnipro, Europe’s fourth-longest river and a historic trading route, has become a key front since Ukrainian troops pushed Russian forces back over its banks in the south last year. (Photo by Roman PILIPEY / AFP) (Photo by ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images)

Roman Pilipey | Afp | Getty Images

Meanwhile, Ukrainian army spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk told Ukrainian television, according to multiple local media reports, that forces on the Russian-controlled bank of the Dnieper River in the southern region of Kherson had been pushed back by between 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) and 8 kilometers.

Fierce fighting has erupted over the past week after Ukrainian forces crossed the vast river into the Russian-occupied eastern bank.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in Kyiv on Monday for a surprise visit. He is expected to hold a series of meetings with senior leaders.