Zelensky: Russia releases 30 drones in Ukrainian attacks

Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Russia has launched more than 30 drone attacks in Ukraine in the past two days with weapons believed to be provided by Iran.

Those drones, which are smaller than missiles and harder to shoot down, have targeted power plants and other infrastructure that Kyiv and the United States have claimed as against international law.

Zelensky also said Russia has carried out some 4,500 missile strikes and more than 8,000 air raids since the start of its invasion of Ukraine in February. He vowed that the Ukrainians, though, will continue to fight.

"Shelling will not break us," Zelensky said. "To hear the enemy's anthem on our land is scarier than the enemy's rockets in our sky. We are not afraid of the dark."

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that while the United Nations should investigate Russia's uses of the drone, it should not be equated to Russia's call to investigate Ukraine on charges it may use a radioactive "dirty bomb."

"Here's the difference, and it's a big one: We have ample evidence of our claims," Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement to the U.N. Security Council. "All Russia has are bizarre conspiracies -- conspiracies that are no more credible today than when they were first brought it to this council six months ago."

Tehran has roundly denied it has provided Moscow with the drones used to attack Ukraine. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the drone accusations were "baseless" and called on Ukraine to "present any evidence supporting the accusations."