Russia fires over 800 drones at Ukraine in new record

KYIV, Sept 07 (AFP): Russia fired at least 805 drones and 13 missiles at Ukraine from late Saturday to early Sunday, the largest air attack of the war, according to Ukraine's air force.

"Air force units detected and tracked 818 air attack vehicles," the air force posted on Telegram. Air defences shot down or suppressed 747 drones and four missiles, it added.

Russia attacks killed two people and set the seat of the Ukrainian government in Kyiv ablaze in an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky warned would prolong the war.

An AFP reporter saw the roof of Ukraine's cabinet of ministers in flames and smoke billowing over the capital. Drone strikes also damaged several high-rise buildings in Kyiv, according to emergency services.

Russia has shown no sign of halting its three-and-a-half-year invasion of Ukraine, pushing hardline demands for ending the war despite efforts by the United States to broker a peace deal.

Residents in Kyiv spoke of their frustration following the strikes. "This is already routine for us, unfortunately," Olga, a 30-year-old resident of a damaged building told AFP. The Russians first "grab the Shaheds (Iranian-designed drones), then the rockets come," she said.

The attack on Sunday was the first to hit Ukraine's cabinet of ministers, a sprawling government complex at the heart of Kyiv. An AFP reporter saw helicopters dropping what appeared to be buckets of water over its roof, as emergency services rushed to the scene.

Russia, which denies targeting civilians in Ukraine, said it had struck "Ukraine's military-industrial complex and transport infrastructure" in the attack, without mentioning the government building.