Explained | What are the kamikaze drones that Russia is allegedly using in the ongoing war?

The drones were reportedly supplied by Iran.

The story so far: Ukraine has accused Russia of attacking Kyiv with a swarm of “kamikaze drones” for the second time within a span of a week. “Every night and every morning, the enemy terrorises the civilian population. Kamikaze drones and missiles are attacking all of Ukraine. A residential building was hit in Kyiv,” Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said on Telegram.

The attack comes barely a few days after Kyiv and surrounding areas were struck by kamikaze drones on October 13 in a series of deadly assaults across Ukraine in which at least 19 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded. The drones were reportedly made in Iran.

Early morning attacks on Kyiv have intensified in the past few weeks after a period of lull. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strikes on Ukraine came in response to Kyiv’s “terrorist” action, including an attack on a bridge to the Moscow-controlled Crimean Peninsula.

Yasuyoshi Chiba, a journalist with the news agency AFP, photographed one of the drones as it approached Kyiv and its aftermath.

Air raid sirens were sounded in Kyiv at around 6.35 a.m. local time, shortly before the first explosion hit. This was followed by sirens across the country.

Vitaliy Klitschko, mayor of Kyiv, said that a total of 28 drones flew towards Kyiv, out of which many were shot down. “A total of 5 explosions were heard in Kyiv. One of them is in a residential building in the Shevchenkiv district,” Mayor Klitschko said on Twitter.

The body of an elderly woman was recovered from the rubble of the residential building attacked in Kyiv on October 18, taking the number of victims to five.