Russia’s air force attacked Ukraine with another 34 Iranian-made drones on Monday, including 23 aimed at Kyiv—18 of which were shot down before hitting their target. 

“These are ‘Shaheds’ [drones] from the new batch that Russia received from Iran,” Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy said in a statement Monday. Russia had been believed to be running low on the drones, which it reportedly received from Tehran over the summer. The first strikes were recorded on 13 Sept., but the pace had been easing since November. According to Zelenskyy, Russia has purchased a second batch of the drones totalling 250 more Shaheds, though the president didn’t elaborate on precisely which models (-131 or -136, e.g.). “As [happened] last time, the attack UAVs were launched from the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov,” Ukraine’s military said Monday. 

“The drone barrage caused emergency power outages in 11 central and eastern regions of the country, including the capital region,” the Associated Press reported Monday from the capital, citing local officials. Half of the country’s pre-war population was without power on Friday night; that included more than 22 million people, the president said. By Sunday evening, about nine million had their electricity restored. “Imagine the scale of this terror,” he said, and used the occasion to plead for more air defense systems from Ukraine’s allies. 

“NASAMS which have already been given to us, significantly…