KYIV -- Ukraine on August 29 commemorated those who have fallen defending the country's independence as Russia unleashed fresh strikes on Kyiv and across the country.
Ukraine's air defenses shot down more than 10 Russian drones over Kyiv in the third large-scale attack on the Ukrainian capital in four days, the city's administration reported.
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"The third air attack on Kyiv in the last four days! A mass attack again! This time, they used exclusively attack UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)," Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said on Telegram, adding that the attack came from the occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson region and from Russia's Kursk region.
Popko said drone debris ignited a fire that was put out by firefighters and added that there were no immediate reports of casualties or material damage.
The latest attacks on Ukraine came as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with the EU foreign ministers in Brussels and urged them to expedite deliveries of promised air defense systems.
"I conveyed a sense of urgency regarding the delivery of already pledged military aid, including air defense systems," Kuleba said on X on August 29 as Ukraine marked the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine.
The holiday marked the 10th anniversary of the battle of Ilovaisk, in the Donetsk region, when hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were killed by Russian troops on August 24, 2014, as they began to withdraw from the Russia-encircled town, despite the Russian military giving assurances that the withdrawal would be allowed to proceed peacefully.
General Oleksandr Syrskiy, the commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said the holiday serves as a perpetual warning about what he called the treachery of the Russian aggressor.
"Ilovaisk is not only a tragic event in the history of Ukraine but also a page of Ukrainian indomitability. It is an act and feat of the Ukrainian military. Let's remember that despite the loss and deception of the enemy, our soldiers did not give up but kept attempting to break out of the trap and fight," Syrskiy said in a message on Telegram.
"This day will always remind us of the treachery of the Russian aggressor [and will remind us] that any negotiations with terrorists and murderers are a mortally dangerous business, and that they cannot be trusted," he added.
Separately, Ukraine's General Staff on August 29 confirmed that it was behind three drone strikes the previous day that targeted Russian oil depots and an ammunition storage facility.
The General Staff said that the strike on the oil depot in the Kamensky district of Russia's Rostov region was carried out by units of the Special Operations Forces of the military and the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) in cooperation with other branches of Ukraine's defense forces.
It also claimed responsibility for a strike on the Zenit oil depot in the Kirov region, some 1,500 kilometers northeast of the Ukrainian border, and one on the ammunition depot of the artillery group Zapad in Russia's Voronezh region.
In Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on August 29 that one person had been killed and two wounded by Ukrainian strikes.
Gladkov said on Telegram that "the town of Shebekino was targeted by Ukrainian forces" and "unfortunately, one person was killed."
Ukraine has not commented on the claim, which could not be independently confirmed.