When three Kyiv police officers normally tasked with patrolling the streets of Ukraine’s capital heard the menacing buzz of a drone overhead early Monday morning, they quickly pulled out their AK-74 assault rifles and began to rapidly fire dozens of rounds into the sky.
“It was very quick. We didn’t have much time to make a decision, so we decided to shoot,” said Oleksandr Kravchuk, a five-year veteran of the city police.
Officers told CBC News they were ending their night shift Monday morning when they received a call saying the capital was under attack.
Kravchuk said he then heard two explosions nearby and decided to block a road near one of the sites because people were going to work soon.
As the officers were stationed on a bridge, Kravchuk said they all began to hear what sounded like a “moped” crossing the sky.
It was an Iranian-made Shahed 136 drone, and according to Kyiv’s mayor, it was one of 28 that targeted the capital on Monday.
Triangular-shaped drones, often described as “kamikaze” or “suicide” drones, are designed to fly towards their target and explode on impact.
In Monday’s attack, one slammed into an apartment building in the city center, killing at least four people.
Kravchuk said he estimated the low-flying drone was about 500 meters away when officers first heard it and about 200 meters away when they began firing.
He said they pointed their high-powered weapons right in front of the drone, trying to estimate how fast it was moving.
‘No one was hurt. So it was only happiness
Kravchuk said he emptied his 30 rounds of ammunition before he saw the drone plummet to the ground.
As it exploded, the officer said he felt the earth shake.
“It was a lot of adrenaline,” he said. “I had a really good feeling that we let him down.”
Footage shows police firing on a drone in Kyiv, part of a flurry of attacks on the capital. Patrol Officer Oleksandr Kravchuk speaks to CBC’s Briar Stewart about a similar attack.
Officers then saw a piece of the drone they shot down. Scribbled on it in black marker, the phrase “for Belgorod” was written.
Belgorod is a Russian region that borders Ukraine and is a key staging area for the country’s military. The area has come under fire before and on Sunday officials said at least three people were injured after explosions near an airport.
Ukrainian officials say the majority of the drones were destroyed before reaching their targets on Monday.
Although it is difficult to verify this claim, dramatic footage of police shooting down the drone was released by the Kyiv Police Department’s press service.
The footage was recorded on a body camera worn by one of the officers and what appears to be a nearby security camera.
Yaroslav Veletnik, who carried the camera that recorded the footage, said after the blast officers started fleeing from the blast site.
A few cars had been destroyed, so the police checked to see if anyone had been injured.
“No one was hurt,” Veletnik told CBC News. “So it was just happiness.”
Appeal to citizens
As officers are praised by members of the public for their swift action in shooting down the drone, Ukrainian officials are urging citizens not to try it themselves.
When Russian troops arrived in Ukraine in February, thousands of weapons were distributed to citizens eager to defend the country.
But authorities are now urging residents not to attempt to shoot down the drones and leave the task to the military and air defense team.
On Ukrainian television, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky said: “I want to appeal to the inhabitants of the city, to those who have weapons. Do not shoot a pistol or a rifle” at the drones. “It can lead to injuries, more problems.”
Kravchuk, the police officer, said he thought it was appropriate for police to shoot down the drone in this case, but added that it should never be attempted by civilians.
“Bullets fly a very long distance and they can shoot someone,” he said.
The government says Monday’s attacks, which came exactly a week after more than 80 missiles rained down on Ukraine, are an example of why NATO allies must send defense systems airline in the country.
Iran issues denials
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday he was urging President Volodymyr Zelensky to cut ties with Iran for supplying the drones to Russia.
Iran has denied these claims, but Kuleba said there is plenty of evidence.
Ukraine claims that Russia bought 2,400 drones and then rebranded them.
Officials say more than 100 of them have targeted the country in the past week.
“Tehran bears full responsibility for the destruction of relations with Ukraine,” Kuleba told a news conference.
The United States has accused Iran of lying about drones, and several European Union ministers have called for more sanctions on Iran.
Asked about the weapons on Tuesday, a Kremlin spokesman said “only Russian equipment is used.”
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