- Russia attacked Kyiv with drones, killing at least three people according to the state emergency body.
- Several Ukrainian officials said Russia used Iranian-made drones in Monday morning’s strikes.
- The photos show the before and after of one of the drone strikes.
Before and after photos show a drone hitting Kyiv on Monday morning in a Russian attack that Ukrainian officials said involved Iranian-made “suicide” drones.
The two images above show the distinctive delta-shaped Shahed-136 drone pointing straight at a target in the Ukrainian capital.
He was captured by Yasuyoshi Chiba, a photographer from the AFP news agency. It was not immediately clear in which part of the city the strike took place.
The first image showed the drone descending in front of trees and a lamp post. The second image shows a fiery explosion on the other side of a wall, with one person running and a second seemingly taking cover on the sidewalk.
Kyiv was hit by several drones on Monday. The photo below shows the consequences of a strike in another area.
Firefighters work after a drone fired at buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday October 17, 2022
AP Photo/Roman Hrytsyna
Serhiy Kruk, head of the National Emergency Service of Ukraine, said three people were killed. Mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko said 28 drones were sent to the city.
Klitschko and other Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have said Russia uses “suicide drones,” which are drones that explode on impact.
Several Ukrainian officials have identified the drones as being made in Iran, which are increasingly seen on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The photo below shows another view of a Shahed-136 over Kyiv on Monday.
A drone is seen during an attack on Kyiv, Ukraine on October 17, 2022.
REUTERS/Roman Petushkov
Drones are relatively cheap and easy to use, which means Russia can use a lot of them, experts said. Insider’s Michael Peck.
This means that Russia could overwhelm Ukrainian forces with the drones, which means Ukraine could lose one of the advantages of their slowness and low flight: they are relatively easy to shoot down.
Ukraine was able to take advantage of this lack of speed and size on Monday. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko and Ukrainian Air Force both said Ukraine was capable of shooting most of them down.
The drones have a range of around 1,250 miles, allowing Russia to hit parts of Ukraine far from the battlefield that its troops have been unable to reach.
The British Ministry of Defense has also said earlier this month that the Shahed-136 “only has a small explosive payload”, meaning it is unlikely to meet Russia’s desire for a drone capable of performing “deep” attacks .
Iran has repeatedly denied giving weapons to Russia, despite evidence of their use in Ukraine.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman repeated the denial on Monday, Reuters reported.
EU foreign policy chief said monday that foreign ministers of EU member countries will meet to “seek concrete evidence” that Iran was involved in the war, and warned that Iran could be sanctioned if such involvement is proven.
US intelligence officials told the Washington Post that Iran has agreed to send more weapons to Russia, including surface-to-surface missiles and more drones.
Russia has lost a significant amount of its weaponry as it loses and withdraws Ukrainian forces to the east.
Ukraine is now using some of it against the Russian army.
And Insider’s Jake Epstein reported last week that military experts believe Russia has burned much of its cruise missile supply.