Kyiv (AP) – Ukrainian air defense thwarted heavy Russian airstrikes on Kyiv, shooting down all 18 hypersonic missiles aimed at the capital with the help of Western defensive weapons.
During the night’s attack, Russian missiles were fired from the air, sea and land, apparently to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defence, and loud explosions rang out over Kyiv.
The barrage comes as European leaders seek new ways to punish Russia in war and a Chinese special envoy seeks support for Beijing’s peace plan, but there has been no engagement so far. It doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on the faction. So did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he returned home from a tumultuous tour of Europe to greet Ukraine’s main wartime allies, prompting a new phase of his promised military aid. The night raid on Kyiv “was extraordinary in its density and hit the maximum number of missiles in the shortest possible time,” said Kyiv junta chief Serhiy Popko.
Valentina Mironets, 64, from Kyiv, said she felt “pain, fear, tension and anxiety” during the attack. “God, we are waiting for victory and the end of this affair,” she said.
British Ambassador Melinda Simmons tweeted that the shooting was “extremely violent”.
It’s the eighth time Russian airstrikes have targeted the capital this month, clearly escalating after weeks of calm before the long-awaited Ukrainian counterattack. Air Force spokesman Yury Inat said in a statement to Telegram that six “Kinzhar” air-ballistic missiles were launched from MiG-31K aircraft, nine cruise missiles from Black Sea ships and three land-launched S- It said 400 cruise missiles were aimed at the capital.
After the initial strike, Ifnat said Russia launched Iranian-made Shahid attack drones and also conducted aerial reconnaissance.
Debris fell on several districts of the capital and sparked fires, but no casualties were reported, said Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko.
As the Russian military continues its long-range bombing tactics, Ukraine’s western allies’ advanced air defense systems, including US-made Patriot missiles, have saved Kiev from destruction seen elsewhere in the country.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the system was destroyed by the “Kinzhar”.
He provided no evidence and was unable to independently verify his statements. Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Ifnat declined to comment on the allegations.
Military experts say the enhanced air defenses prevented Russian aircraft from penetrating deep into Ukraine and helped shape the course of the war.
Late Tuesday, European leaders will attend a rare summit of the 46-nation Council of Europe, the continent’s leading human rights body.
The purpose of the two-day meeting in Iceland is to establish a method of documenting the damage caused by Kremlin forces in Ukraine so that damage claims can be filed against Moscow. Meanwhile, a Chinese special envoy is preparing to visit Ukraine and Russia in the coming days as Beijing moves forward with a peace plan announced in February.
Former Chinese ambassador to Moscow Li Hui will also visit Poland, France and Germany, according to China’s foreign ministry.
Ukraine cautiously welcomed China’s proposal, but said it would wait and see what concrete actions China would take. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is neutral and wants to play a mediating role in the war, but it is giving Russia political backing, and even more than 14 months after Russia’s all-out invasion, a breakthrough is unlikely.
In Russia-occupied southern Ukraine, about 500 kilometers from Kyiv, Russian authorities have launched drills to systematically evacuate 3,100 employees and their families from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, according to state-owned nuclear power plant Energoatom. representative said. Ukrainian Tuesday company. The factory, the largest in Europe, employed about 11,000 people before the war, of whom about 6,000 remain on site and in the surrounding town of Enerjodar.
Other Russian military units have also arrived at the site and are continuing to mine, a representative told The Associated Press, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
In a Telegram post, Energoatom said the remaining workers were barred from communicating with each other and from the factory to reduce the risk of the Russian military leaking information about Russian positions and military equipment inside the factory.At least seven civilians have been killed and 14 others killed in Russian artillery shelling into areas of Ukraine from Monday to Tuesday morning, the country’s president’s office said.
