Falling missile debris injured at least three people in Kyiv and caused damage to the city’s zoo and other central neighborhoods, city officials said.
The strikes, which could be heard for more than 20 minutes in the capital, were among the worst in months. The attack “is unique in its density – the largest missile attack in the shortest time,” wrote Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, on Telegram.
Ukrainian officials said the barrage offered the latest evidence that Ukraine desperately needs stronger aviation capabilities and
Ukrainian officials claimed a perfect interception rate, and credited the Western-donated Patriot air defense system with deterring attacks by Russia’s most sophisticated weapons, including the hypersonic “Kinzhal ” or “Dagger” traveling at more than five times the speed of sound. Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, said that Russia spent millions of dollars on high-end missiles in a failed attempt to hit targets in the capital region.
“The enemy is trying to achieve its goals,” Ihnat said. “Now it has the purpose of attacking some installations in the region of the capital. It can be next to the city, or the city — we don’t know what the enemy has in mind, because we destroy everything.
Ihnat said the Russians were firing from multiple locations. “They attack missiles from different bases: air, land, sea,” he said. Russia also attacked the capital overnight with drones, Ihnat and other officials said.
Tom Narako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, said Russia appears to be launching a “sophisticated, complex attack in terms of multiple trajectories, multiple missiles..”
“The idea is that there are ballistics coming in one direction, cruise missiles coming in another, drones in another,” Narako said.
Narako supports the assessment that Russia is targeting high-value targets and not just trying to create a distraction. “When you’re firing a Kinzhal, you’re not firing for effect,” he said.
The drone attacks, in particular, appear to be part of Moscow’s ongoing effort to test Ukraine’s newly-provided Western air defense systems, perhaps looking for vulnerabilities or aiming to deplete Kyiv’s missile stocks in not yet the more intense fighting on the ground expected in the coming weeks. .
Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Stimson Center, said that while the West has been able to address the missile shortage in Ukraine’s aging Russian-made air defenses by sending its own system, Western air defense systems have supply limitations. .
“There simply aren’t that many systems and missiles to send to Ukraine, and the defense industry can’t grow fast enough to meet the demand,” Grieco said, noting that only two Patriot systems were delivered to Ukraine. .
The top military commander of Ukraine, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, wrote on Tuesday in Telegram that the drones include two Iranian-made Shahed attack drones and Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone.
“Everything is destroyed!” Written by Zaluzhny.
Ukraine also intercepted nine Kalibr cruise missiles launched from ships in the Black Sea and three Iskander land-based missiles, the military said. About an hour after air alarms sounded for the first round of attacks, they sounded again as Ukraine reported a second round, this time involving unmanned aerial objects.
Debris from the missiles landed in the center of Solomyansky district, injuring three and setting fire to a nonresidential building and several vehicles.
The Kyiv Zoo was also hit by falling debris, although no animals were reported injured. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in Telegram that a fragment of a rocket hit a tree but the branches are now removed, and the zoo is opened as usual at 10 am.
Since Russia resumed almost daily strikes on the capital in late April, Ukraine’s strengthened air defenses, including Patriot systems, have spared Kyiv from damage.
This success creates a sense of security, which may not be true. On Monday night, some people in the city’s packed bars and restaurants reacted when the air raid alarm was sounded around 8 p.m.
Earlier this month, Ukraine said it used the Patriot system to shoot down a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal, or Dagger, missile over Kyiv – showing it could take down one of Russia’s most feared, but also the most expensive, weapons.
During a recent interview with The Washington Post, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Russia has stopped trying to destroy Ukraine’s infrastructure and is now trying to eliminate its air defense systems. . Reznikov in the interview reiterated Ukraine’s urgent need for more firepower.
“We need 40 Patriots, 40 IRIS-T, 40 NASAMS,” Reznikov said, referring to the US-made system and two other surface-to-air missile systems.
The adviser to the president of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak, posting on Twitter on Tuesday, criticized Western officials who claimed that Kyiv “does not need aviation and long-range missiles” – saying that it facilitates Moscow to “create a dream” for Ukraine.
Podolyak did not name anyone specifically but President Biden personally turned down a request for American-made F-16 fighter jets, saying Zelensky did not need them.
Podoliak in a text message to The Post, said his words were directed at “those colleagues who still believe” that the transfer of such weapons “will result in progress.” On the contrary, he said, it “will lead to an escalation of the conflict and an increase in casualties.”
“Let’s be honest,” Podolyak said. “Every time Russia demonstratively attacks Ukrainian cities, it sends certain messages to our partners.”
He added: “These are ballistic and cruise missiles, attack and reconnaissance drones aimed at the peaceful cities of Ukraine and its inhabitants, who at 3 o’clock in the morning did not expect a threat.”