Ukraine has said that it has a severe shortage of interceptor missiles (to prevent air attacks). For this reason, Ukraine’s Air Force could not stop even one of the 23 ballistic missiles that Russia fired at the capital Kiev on Monday. According to Ukrainian officials, this was Russia’s second major attack on Kiev within a week. 28 people were killed in this attack. 18 people died in Kiev city, while 10 people died in other areas of the Kiev region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia released 68 missiles and 351 attack drones in this attack. The Ukrainian Air Force shot down or deflected 37 missiles and 326 drones, but not a single one of the 23 ballistic missiles could be intercepted. Zelensky said that it is sad to have such a situation in the world today that there are not enough interceptor missiles available to protect people from ballistic missiles.
Zelensky asked for help from western countries
Zelensky said that as long as Patriot air defense missiles remain in the warehouses of allied countries, Russia will continue to carry out such attacks on residential areas of Ukraine. After the attack, there was massive destruction at many places in Kyiv. Three large residential buildings partially collapsed and missiles fell directly on some buildings. To extinguish the fire in the city, helicopters kept bringing water from the river and kept extinguishing the fire.
Just hours before the attack, Zelensky had warned that Russia could launch another major attack on Kiev. Earlier, 30 people had died in the attack on Thursday. Ukraine alleges that Russia is deliberately targeting residential areas, while Russia says that it attacked Ukraine’s military and energy targets.
Ukraine continues attacks on Russia
Meanwhile, Ukraine has also continued to retaliate against Russia’s energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian military claimed to have attacked three Russian oil refineries, including the largest in Omsk. It is about 2,414 km away from the Ukrainian border and is being counted among the longest distance attacks so far. Russia claimed that Ukraine sent 625 long-range drones, of which 613 were shot down.
Zelensky has appealed to the US and European countries to take concrete decisions to strengthen Ukraine’s air security before the NATO summit starting in Ankara, Turkey. At the same time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also said that Ukraine’s air defense needs will be discussed in the conference. Russia started attacks on Ukraine in February 2022. At present Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine.
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