Russia launches mass drone attacks on Ukraine ahead of Victory Day holiday

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [The Independent]( May 09, 2023 [View online](   [Morning Headlines]( 1 / [Russia launches mass drone attacks on Ukraine ahead of Victory Day holiday]( Russia launched its biggest swarm of drone attacks on Ukraine on Monday as it also prepared for annual commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said Russia fired 60 Iranian-made kamikaze drones at Ukrainian targets, including 36 at the capital. All those fired at Kyiv had been shot down he said, although debris hit apartments and other buildings, injuring at least five people. “This was the most massive drone attack on the capital during the entire war,” Mr Klitschko, the former heavyweight boxing champion, said. The assault is part of a renewed Russian air campaign unleashed 10 days ago after a lull since early March. A food warehouse was also set ablaze by a missile in the Black Sea city of Odesa, where officials reported three people were injured. Kyiv said Moscow was also making a final push to try to capture the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut to deliver Vladimir Putin what would be his only prize for a costly Russian winter offensive, in time for Victory Day.   2 / [Labour majority on knife edge as Sunak comes under pressure]( Polling expert John Curtice says results in group of key marginals would hand Keir Starmer a slim majority if replicated at election 3 / [Met Police ‘regrets’ arrests of six protesters ahead of King’s coronation]( The force was threatened with legal action after deciding to bring no further action against the group 4 / [Education secretary says AI could take over much of ‘heavy lifting’ involved in teaching]( ‘AI could have the power to transform a teacher’s day-to-day work’ 5 / [Prince Harry’s ghostwriter feared being fired after blazing late-night row over Diana story]( JR Moehringer recalls butting heads over ‘somewhat inane’ line that the Duke of Sussex believed demonstrated a ‘flash of cleverness’ THE BIG QUESTION [Were the local election results due to Conservative failure or Labour success?]( [Labour](’s response to [Thursday’s local election results]( was simple. As soon as the party registered its first advances in the relatively limited number of councils that had opted to count the ballots overnight, its spokespersons were claiming the results showed the party was “on course” to win an overall majority at the next general election, writes John Curtice. And those claims were not without foundation. When aggregated up to current parliamentary constituencies (something that has, however, become increasingly difficult because of ward boundary changes), the party can be found to be ahead in many a seat won by the Conservatives in 2019. For example, according to the detailed results collected by the BBC, Labour were ahead in Calder Valley, Colne Valley, Dewsbury, Ipswich, and Plymouth Moor View – all of them places where all three main parties fought all the component wards. On average the swing from [Conservative]( to Labour since the last general election in these key marginals was 12 per cent – precisely the swing that on the current constituency boundaries Labour might well need to secure an overall majority of one. [For the full story click here]( £99 £20 for 1 year ✓ Full access to Premium news analysis ✓ Advert-free reading across web and app ✓ The Independent Daily Edition newspaper ✓ Puzzles, virtual event tickets and more [SUBSCRIBE NOW](   WATCH /[Moment shell explodes in Bakhmut amid heavy fighting]( NUMBER OF THE DAY 3,000 – The UK has room to detain just 3,000 people under [Rishi Sunak]('s small boats bill – less than a tenth of those who came across the Channel last year, The Independent can reveal. Read more here]( QUOTE OF THE DAY “His mother is inconsolable. If you are [a] gang member, this message is for you: Drop your knife and quit the gangster life before it is too late.” – Michel Pongo, the uncle of a teenager stabbed to death in [Dagenham]( on Friday, urged anyone caught up in [gangs]( to “drop your knife” and quit “before it is too late”. 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