New Delhi: Russia launched a massive combined missile and drone attack on Kyiv, with destruction occurring across several residential neighbourhoods. Officials have stated that last night may have been one of the deadliest nights Kyiv has had in several months. The nationwide attacks included approximately 74 missiles, including 24 ballistic missiles, and 496 drones. Ukraine’s air force stated that Kyiv took the brunt of the attack.
This attack follows a recent escalation between Russia and Ukraine, with Ukraine greatly expanding its long-term use of drone strikes against Russian refineries, which squeezed Russian fuel supplies badly enough that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has, for the first time, publicly acknowledged the impact
Just hours before the attack, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had warned from a joint press conference in Dublin on Wednesday that Moscow is preparing for a “massive” overnight attack. Shortly afterwards, he stated on his social media account that he would be cutting his visit short and will head back to Ukraine.
To the Ukrainian people, he bluntly stated: use shelters, listen to the sirens and protect your children. Putin had been building up to the strike for some time, and therefore, the threat is not just theoretical, it is real and will happen. In addition, he used this opportunity to poke diplomacy at Moscow by saying that even though Ukraine has offered numerous times, both through official and unofficial channels, to negotiate, Putin has “completely refused” to end the war.
Where the missiles hit
The damage was localized in six different districts where residential properties were most impacted. According to the sources, a nine-story residential tower collapsed with many residents trapped inside in the Desnianskyi district. Another building partially collapsed in Darnytskyi, and a nearby five-story residential building sustained damage.
A fire broke out on top of a building in Holosiivskyi district, and on a hotel in central Shevchenkivskyi district where a paramedic is now in critical condition. Many homes were burned to the ground in Sviatoshynskyi district and some residents became trapped underneath the debris. Finally, many residents in Podilskyi district woke up to find their apartment had no windows, doors or balconies due to the force of the explosion.
Casualties mounted
Reports of casualties have fluctuated throughout the day as rescuers continue to work through the debris. Kyiv’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, has confirmed a minimum of 11 deaths so far, additional sources report that as many as 17 people may have died in the attack. According to some counts, approximately 34 to over 80 people may have experienced an injury.
Kyiv has been through this before, so the pattern is quite predictable: the number of injured people will increase all day after the attack, but once the search and rescue efforts are complete, the final number of injured people will be released officially.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, referred to the events of that night as a “night of horror”, and restated the urgency of requesting assistance from western allies to expedite their acquisition of Patriot air defence systems, which can shoot down incoming ballistic missiles, and are significantly more difficult for Ukraine to intercept than drones. Sybiha rejected Russia’s framing of the strikes as primarily retaliatory, asserting that in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, Ukraine’s long-range strikes inside of Russia are an exercise of lawful self-defence.
According to the Russian defence ministry, the strikes were aimed at military, energy and defence industry infrastructures. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin, did not provide any indication that military pressure on Ukraine by Moscow would be lessened in the future.
In addition, Poland and Finland took precautions. Poland scrambled jets and raised air defences on alert before standing down, and Finland briefly closed airspace over the eastern Gulf of Finland. The level of readiness exhibited by these countries is indicative of the integration into the Nato alliance by these two countries and their participation in Nato exercises.