The Ukrainian metropolis of Kiev faces an attack of ballistic missiles, the local authorities, quoted by the AFP agency, informed on Thursday, writes TASR.
Mayor of the city Vitalij Klitschko in a post on social networks reported explosions in the capital and air defense activitywhich is working to repel the Russian attack. Head of the military administration of the city Tymur Tkachenko called on the population to take refuge in civil defense shelters. Information on casualties or damage is not yet available. A state of emergency remains in effect for Kyiv and several other Ukrainian regions.
The latest ballistic missile attack on Kiev comes less than two weeks after Russia’s massive combined attack on June 15. This attack claimed the lives of five people in Kyiv and caused damage to the monastery complex Kyiv-Pecherská Lavra, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Kiev responded to the June 15 attack with unprecedented attacks on Moscow, hitting the Russian capital and its main oil refinery with waves of drones on June 16 and 18. The June 18 attack was the largest ever attack by Ukrainian drones on Moscow since the outbreak of war in February 2022. The attacks led to an indefinite shutdown of Moscow’s oil refinery, worsening the fuel crisis, and again prompted threats of retaliation from the Kremlin.
As the advance of Russian front-line troops has stalled, Moscow has increasingly relied on ballistic missiles to inflict maximum damage in large-scale airstrikes against Ukrainian cities. Ukraine’s ability to protect its cities depends heavily on its stockpile of Patriot anti-missile missiles – ammunition for the US-made air defense system, which remains the only weapon effective against ballistic missiles.
