MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. Air defense units of the Ukrainian armed forces had to shoot down a Ukrainian drone above the capital Kiev late on Thursday, the Command of the Ukrainian Air Force said on social networks.

"At around 8:00 p.m. [Moscow time] on May 4, control was lost over a Bayraktar-TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle performing a scheduled flight in the Kiev Region," the Air Force Command said in a statement on its Facebook page (Facebook is prohibited in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist).

"The drone’s uncontrollable flight in the capital’s airspace could have led to undesirable consequences, so a decision was made to refer the matter to mobile groups. Target destroyed!" the statement says.

Presumably, the loss of control occurred "as a result of a technical malfunction." Its causes will be investigated.

No casualties were reported as a result of the air defense engagement and subsequent fall of debris.

An air raid warning was issued in Kiev earlier on Thursday. Eyewitnesses told TASS several drones were spotted over Kiev, and air defense forces tried to shoot them down. The air raid warning was later cancelled. Later, city authorities reported falling debris, an explosion and two fires on the ground.