Ukraine’s Air Force has confirmed that it shot down one of its own drones, which had lost control above central Kyiv on Thursday evening. Explosions were heard for around 15 to 20 minutes as air defense attempted to shoot down the drone in an area near the president’s office.
Initially, Ukraine presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak claimed that the drone was an enemy aircraft that had been shot down. However, the Air Force later admitted that it was Ukrainian and had been destroyed to prevent “undesirable circumstances.”
In a statement, the Air Force said that the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle had lost control around 8 p.m. in the Kyiv region during a scheduled flight. The Air Force took the decision to shoot it down “since the uncontrolled presence of UAVs in the sky of the capital could lead to undesirable consequences.”
Fortunately, there were no casualties or injuries from the falling drone. The Air Force added that the reasons for the drone’s malfunction are still being established, and it was probably due to a technical fault.
Videos of the drone being shot down were widely shared on social media, and cheers could be heard when the drone finally fell. City military administration head Serhiy Popko said a fire that broke out in a building where the drone was brought down in Solomyanskyi district, west of the city center, was under control.
The incident occurred a day after Russia accused Ukraine of conducting an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin, aimed at assassinating President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin was not occupied at the time of the supposed attack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed on Thursday that the United States was “undoubtedly” behind the alleged attack, without providing any evidence.
However, the US National Security spokesman John Kirby called Peskov’s claims a “ludicrous claim.” In response, Ukraine denied any involvement in the alleged attack and accused Moscow of staging the incident to escalate the war.
