The biggest attack by Russia took Kyiv by storm
Ukrainian military officials have reported that Russia executed its most intense drone attack on Ukraine since the onset of the full-scale invasion. Mykola Oleshchuk, the Ukrainian air force commander, highlighted Kyiv as the primary target. Approximately 75 drones were launched by Russia, with Ukraine’s armed forces confirming that 71 were successfully intercepted by air defenses. The drone assault on Kyiv, lasting several hours, resulted in at least five injuries, including an 11-year-old child, according to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko. Besides Kyiv, the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Kirovohrad regions were also targeted.
The attack were carried on in the early hours of Saturday, hitting various districts of Kyiv, with additional waves occurring at sunrise. Zelenskiy noted the timing of the attack on the day when Ukrainians commemorate the Holodomor famine of 1932-33, calling it “wilful terror” and accusing the Russian leadership of pride in causing harm.
Kyiv has reciprocated
The Ukrainian energy ministry reported that nearly 200 buildings in Kyiv, including 77 residential ones, were left without power due to the attack. Ukraine’s air force characterized the drone raid as Russia’s most extensive since the war’s initiation in February 2022.
Kyiv has reciprocated with increased drone and missile attacks on Russian military installations in eastern Ukraine and around the Crimean peninsula as part of a counteroffensive launched in June. Russian missile defenses reportedly downed 13 Ukrainian drones over Crimea and three more over the Volgograd region early on Friday, according to local media citing Russia’s defense ministry.
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On Friday, Zelenskiy outlined three crucial “victories” Ukraine seeks abroad: approval of extensive aid packages from the United States Congress and the European Union, and the formal commencement of accession talks to join the European Union. With fatigue setting in twenty months into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Kyiv heavily relies on its allies for military, economic, and humanitarian aid to counter the Kremlin’s troops.