Ukraine Shoots Down Russian Drones, US to Send Missile Defense System
2022-12-15
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1Ukraine says it shot down 13 drones launched by Russia Wednesday over the capital Kyiv.
2A city official in Kyiv, Serhii Popko, wrote on the social media service Telegram the attempted strikes came in two waves.
3He said wreckage from the downed drones damaged an administration building and four housing structures.
4The snow-covered capital remained largely calm after the early morning attack, The Associated Press reported.
5Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video statement all 13 Iranian-made drones were identified by air defense systems and destroyed.
6The back of one wrecked drone had a handwritten message on it that said, "For Ryazan!!!"
7The message was believed to be a reference to an attack Russia claims Ukraine launched last week on a military base in the Ryazan area of western Russia.
8Drones have been used by Russia - along with rockets, missiles and artillery weapons - to target power stations, water centers and other infrastructure in Ukraine.
9The damage caused by Russian strikes has at times cut off electricity, heating and water supplies to many Ukrainians as winter sets in.
10Ukrainian officials have praised the military's ability to identify incoming Russian weapons and shoot them down.
11But strikes in some areas continue to cause deaths and destruction, especially in areas close to the front lines in the east and south.
12In the southern city of Odesa, drone strikes temporarily shut off power last week.
13During an earlier round of Russian strikes on December 5, Ukrainian officials said about 60 of 70 weapons were identified by air defense systems.
14This included nine out of 10 that targeted the capital and the surrounding area.
15American officials said Tuesday the United States was set to approve sending the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine.
16Ukrainian leaders have made urgent requests to receive defense systems and stronger weapons from the West to shoot down incoming Russian missiles.
17Zelenskyy pressed Western leaders as recently as Monday to provide more powerful weapons to help his country.
18The Patriot would be the most advanced surface-to-air missile system the West has provided to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February.
19U.S. officials told Reuters news agency an announcement on sending the Patriot system to Ukraine could come as soon as Thursday.
20Russia said on Wednesday the U.S. Patriot missile defense system could be targeted by Russian forces if it is deployed in Ukraine.
21Currently, no peace talks are taking place to end the war, which has killed thousands, displaced millions and damaged major cities.
22This week, President Zelenskyy called on Russia to start withdrawing troops by Christmas as the first step toward a peace deal.
23But Russia said on Wednesday it had no plans to establish a "Christmas ceasefire."
24I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Ukraine says it shot down 13 drones launched by Russia Wednesday over the capital Kyiv. 2A city official in Kyiv, Serhii Popko, wrote on the social media service Telegram the attempted strikes came in two waves. He said wreckage from the downed drones damaged an administration building and four housing structures. 3The snow-covered capital remained largely calm after the early morning attack, The Associated Press reported. 4Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video statement all 13 Iranian-made drones were identified by air defense systems and destroyed. 5The back of one wrecked drone had a handwritten message on it that said, "For Ryazan!!!" The message was believed to be a reference to an attack Russia claims Ukraine launched last week on a military base in the Ryazan area of western Russia. 6Drones have been used by Russia - along with rockets, missiles and artillery weapons - to target power stations, water centers and other infrastructure in Ukraine. 7The damage caused by Russian strikes has at times cut off electricity, heating and water supplies to many Ukrainians as winter sets in. 8Ukrainian officials have praised the military's ability to identify incoming Russian weapons and shoot them down. But strikes in some areas continue to cause deaths and destruction, especially in areas close to the front lines in the east and south. In the southern city of Odesa, drone strikes temporarily shut off power last week. 9During an earlier round of Russian strikes on December 5, Ukrainian officials said about 60 of 70 weapons were identified by air defense systems. This included nine out of 10 that targeted the capital and the surrounding area. 10US to send missile defense system 11American officials said Tuesday the United States was set to approve sending the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine. Ukrainian leaders have made urgent requests to receive defense systems and stronger weapons from the West to shoot down incoming Russian missiles. 12Zelenskyy pressed Western leaders as recently as Monday to provide more powerful weapons to help his country. The Patriot would be the most advanced surface-to-air missile system the West has provided to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February. 13U.S. officials told Reuters news agency an announcement on sending the Patriot system to Ukraine could come as soon as Thursday. 14Russia said on Wednesday the U.S. Patriot missile defense system could be targeted by Russian forces if it is deployed in Ukraine. 15Currently, no peace talks are taking place to end the war, which has killed thousands, displaced millions and damaged major cities. 16This week, President Zelenskyy called on Russia to start withdrawing troops by Christmas as the first step toward a peace deal. But Russia said on Wednesday it had no plans to establish a "Christmas ceasefire." 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 19__________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21drone - n. an unmanned aircraft 22reference - n. the act of mentioning something 23infrastructure - n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) needed for a country or area to operate 24advanced - adj. having developed or progressed to a late stage 25____________________________________________________________ 26What do you think of this story? 27We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.