EXPLAINED: Why Ukraine Shot Down Its Own Drone Over Central Kyiv Last Night
For 20 minutes on Thursday evening, intense explosions and anti-aircraft fire thundered across the capital causing panic on the streets as people assumed another Russian attack.
Kyiv is by now depressingly familiar with the sights and sounds of drone and missile attacks, but on Thursday evening, a particularly intense battle raged in the skies of the capital as air defenses fought to bring down yet another target.
What happened?
Shortly before 8 p.m., air raid sirens rang out across the city, an almost daily occurrence that has increased in frequency over the last week as Russia increases the pace of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv.
Air raid alerts are frequently precautionary and don’t always signal an attack but almost immediately after sounding, the engine buzz of a drone and the sound of air defenses working told everyone that this wasn’t one that should be ignored.
Footage posted on social media showed a drone flying over right over the center of the city, close to the capital’s famous Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) and then lazily looping around the skies of the city.
The intensity of the anti-aircraft fire appeared much higher than usual – Kyiv Post reporters heard and saw a barrage of flak as well as a number of air defense missiles being fired at the drone, causing a constant thunder-like rumble to sound across the city for nearly 20 minutes.
On the streets, people ran to the nearest metro station to take cover, assuming Russia was once again launching a major attack.
‘We Laughed a Lot’ – How the Kremlin Drone ‘Attack’ Went Down on the Streets of Kyiv
Most people Kyiv Post spoke to are convinced the incident was staged by the Kremlin but yet another overnight attack on the capital show that regardless, there are ramifications.
As the above video shows, the drone was finally intercepted in a spectacular explosion over the center of Kyiv that sparked shouts of joy from onlookers.
The all clear was swiftly given and people quickly resumed their evenings in Kyiv’s bars and restaurants, thankful that the city’s air defenses had once again thwarted what they assumed to be another Russian attack.
But it wasn’t Russia?
It was not. There were murmurings on social media not long after the incident as weapons experts pointed out the drone in question looked nothing like the Iranian-made Shahed drones that normally attack Ukrainian cities. It was also much larger.
The only Russian-operated drone that resembles the one shot down over Kyiv is the Korsar (developed by KB Luch). However, the drone appears to more closely resemble the Bayraktar TB2, which is operated by Ukraine, meaning this may well have been a friendly fire incident. https://t.co/3DaCCBROff