Remains of Iranian drone found in Kyiv with ‘Happy New Year’ message – police

The remains of an Iranian-made drone have been found in Ukraine’s Kyiv region with the inscription “Happy New Year” on it, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Multiple explosions rocked Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday, with Ukrainian officials saying Russia was now deliberately targeting civilians as its 10-month war continues with no end in sight.

Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, shared an image from a drone on Twitter who police say was among dozens destroyed by Ukrainian forces on New Year’s Eve.

“The remains of an Iranian drone shot down on New Year’s Eve in the Kyiv region,” Gerashchenko wrote. “The writing says ‘Happy New Year’.”

The photos were originally posted on the Telegram messaging platform by Kyiv regional police chief Andrii Nebytov.

Nebytov said the fragments were found in an area frequented by children.

The wreckage of the Shahed-136 drone was “part of the ‘brother peoples’ nightly New Year’s greetings! You can say both cheap and tasteless!” he wrote.

“These fragments are not at the front line, where there is fierce fighting, they are here, on the sports field, where the children play. That is all there is to know about the terrorist state and his army.”

He added: “We thank the air defense units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for the excellent result. Without your professional work, the morning would not be good.”

In another post, Nebytov said Ukrainian forces managed to destroy 32 drones that were flying over the Kyiv region.

“We received over 140 reports of enemy drones flying over the Kyiv region on New Year’s Eve,” he wrote. “The wreckage of the drones has already been found in three districts in the region. The police continue to search for the remains of the drones and register the war crimes of the attackers.”

He added: “I am grateful to the citizens for having been informed in a timely manner of the aerial danger. I remind you that if you hear or see an aerial object, inform the police immediately.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was celebrating the New Year by launching a new series of missile attacks targeting residential areas of Ukraine.

“This time Russia’s massive missile attack is deliberately targeting residential areas, not even our energy infrastructure,” Kuleba said. wrote in a tweet.

“War criminal Putin is ‘celebrating’ the New Year by killing people. Russia must be kicked out of its illegally held seat on the UN Security Council.”

Meanwhile, Putin’s New Year’s speech saw him lashing out at Ukraine and the West, accusing the countries of trying to use the conflict to undermine Russia.

“It was a year of difficult and necessary decisions, the most important steps towards achieving full Russian sovereignty and the powerful consolidation of our society,” Putin said in a nine-minute video released as each region of the Russian time zone counted the last minutes. of 2022.

“The West lied about peace, but was preparing for aggression, and today it openly admits it, more embarrassed. And they cynically use Ukraine and its people to weaken and divide Russia. We don’t ‘have never allowed anyone and will not allow anyone to do this.’

Newsweek contacted Ukrainian and Russian authorities for comment.