Ukraine Says Downed Its Own Drone In Kyiv After Device 'Lost Control'

The Ukrainian air force said it downed its own drone that lost control over Kyiv on Thursday, after a series of explosions shook the capital.

The explosions, which resonated for about 15 to 20 minutes in Kyiv, followed a wave of overnight Russian attacks between Wednesday and Thursday.

"At about 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) a Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial device lost control during a scheduled flight in the Kyiv region... the target was destroyed!" the air force said, adding it was establishing the cause of a "likely" technical malfunction.

At the time of the explosions, AFP journalists saw a drone that air defence was attempting to shoot down, while the Kyiv city military administration said "air defence is at work."

Journalists saw a cloud of black smoke in the air, just as the Kyiv city military administration announced the air raid alert was over.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said "firefighters put out a fire on the ground floor of a four-storey shopping centre" in the Solomyansky district.

The fire spread over 50 square metres (538 square feet) and caused some superficial damage but no victims were reported, Klitschko said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/AKnyi1M