Officials said Ukrainian air defences repulsed an aggressive Russian air attack on Kyiv early Tuesday. Shooting down all 18 missiles intended at the city.
The midnight onslaught combined Russian missiles launched from the air and sea. Land in an apparent attempt to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences. There were no casualties recorded, as Western-supplied weapons helped repel the assault.
The onslaught came as European leaders sought new methods to punish Russia for the war. And a Chinese diplomat sought support for Beijing’s peace solution.
The latest Russian air attack on Kyiv was “exceptional in its density — the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest period of time,” according to Serhii Popko, the chief of Kyiv’s military administration.
Valentyna Myronets, 64, of Kyiv, said she felt “pain, fear, nervousness, and restlessness” during the assaults. “God, we are waiting for victory, and when this is all over,” she remarked.
The British ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, tweeted that the bombardment was “pretty intense.”
“Bangs and shaking walls are not an easy night,” she wrote.
It was the capital’s seventh air raid this month, a clear escalation after weeks of calm and before a much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive. It also coincided with the conclusion of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s hurried European visit to greet Ukraine’s important wartime allies. Which prompted an additional tranche of pledged military help.
Six “Kinzhal” aero-ballistic missiles launched from MiG-31K aircraft, nine cruise missiles launched from Black Sea ships, and three land-based S-400 cruise missiles targeted the capital, according to Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat in a Telegram statement.
Following the initial assault, Russia sent Iranian-made Shahed attack drones and conducted aerial reconnaissance, according to Ihnat.
Debris fell over numerous neighbourhoods in the capital, sparking fires, but no fatalities have been reported, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Sophisticated air defence systems provided by Ukraine’s Western partners, particularly American-made Patriot missiles, have helped save Kyiv from the devastation seen elsewhere in the country as Russian forces continue their long-range bombardment campaign.