Armed drone attacks pound Kyiv

Russian forces continued unleashing armed drones in Kyiv on Monday, setting buildings ablaze and killing at least five people.

Hi, it's Julius with an update on Ukraine. 

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said most of the drones fired at Kyiv were deflected. However, one drone struck an operations center and another one collapsed at least three apartments in a five-story residential building. 

Klitschko said the drones were Iranian-made Shaheds, which Russia has rebranded as Geran-2 drones. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday denied that Iran provided drones to Russia.

The drones are meant to explode upon impact as they inflict the most damage possible and spread terror.

The attack came a week after Russia’s massive barrage of missile strikes in Kyiv and other major cities across Ukraine killed at least 20 people. That assault was the first to reach Kyiv in four months.

In a CNN interview, U.S. General David Petraeus called the drone strikes "huge and problematic'' in their ability to impact Ukraine's energy sector and scare the population.

But Patraeus added that the drones won't change the direction of a war that has featured plenty of Russian missteps and a counteroffensive that has allowed Ukraine to recapture more than 1,000 square miles of territory while seizing momentum. Instead, he sees the drones as one of the few options left for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• At least 15 people died when a Russian warplane crashed Monday into a residential area in the Russian port city of Yeysk.
• Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the European Union to sanction Iran for supplying Russia with deadly drones.