Russia sends “Happy New Year” drone to attack Kyiv

The remains of a Russian drone with the message “Happy New Year” have been discovered in Kyiv. The drone also featured a crude drawing of a gift. Russia has intensified its airstrikes against Ukraine in recent days, including on New Year’s Eve. LoadingSomething is loading.

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Russia sent an explosive drone marked “Happy New Year” as part of a barrage of attacks to mark the new year, according to an official.

Andriy Nebytov, police chief of the capital Kyiv, posted images of the drone on Facebook after attacks in Ukraine on New Year’s Eve and in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

The images show “Happy New Year” written in Russian on part of the wreckage. It also features crude drawings of a gift and a bauble labeled “boom.”

The drone was marked as Geran-2, the Russian name for the Shahed-136 drones it purchases from Iran and has been launching in Ukraine in large numbers.

An enlarged image of the wreckage. Andriy Nebytov, via Facebook

Ukrainian officials said they shot down 45 of these drones on the night of December 31, including 32 over Kyiv.

Nebytov said the drone in the photos landed in a children’s playground. He did not say if he was shot down or landed on the spot.

“This is all you need to know about the terrorist state and its army,” Nebytov wrote of the message on the drone.

The strikes in Ukraine on New Year’s Eve also included at least 20 cruise missiles, authorities said. They killed one person and injured 20 more in what a Ukrainian official described as a “New Year’s Eve terror”.

A file photo showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy standing on the wreckage of a Shahed-136 drone in early 2022. Screenshot/Official website of the President of Ukraine

It followed major shelling in recent days, including Russia’s launch of more than 120 missiles into Ukraine on December 29, its biggest wave of attacks in recent months, according to a Ukrainian official.

Russia said the latest strikes targeted locations involved in drone manufacturing, with the aim of limiting attacks against Russia.

Ukraine has repeatedly said that Russia rarely hits military targets and mostly harms ordinary people and civilian infrastructure.

Credit: https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-drone-inscribed-with-happy-new-year-used-on-kyiv-2023-1