On Sunday, Russia attacked Kiev and other cities of Ukraine with ballistic missiles, drones and guided bombs. At least six people died and dozens were injured. This attack has once again exposed the shortcomings of the American-made Patriot air defense system in Ukraine. In recent weeks, Moscow has increased the use of ballistic missiles. He wants to stop Ukraine’s attacks on oil sites inside Russia, because these attacks have caused severe fuel shortages, affecting both the military and civilians.
US President Donald Trump has said that he is ready to give Ukraine a license to become a patriot. Patriot is the most effective way to stop Russian ballistic missiles, which can strengthen Kiev’s security system.
However, the complete information and timeline about it is not clear yet and it may take several years for it to be completely built. The latest attack on Kiev began around 1:30 a.m. and continued for several hours, with explosions echoing throughout the city. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia fired 41 missiles and 125 drones across Ukraine overnight. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that most of these missiles had targeted the capital.
Later on Sunday, a Russian attack on a postal center near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, killed three people and wounded at least 20, according to regional authorities. Local authorities and Ukraine’s emergency service said Russian guided bombs also targeted the cities of Kherson and Sumy, killing at least one person in each attack.
Rapidly increasing ballistic missile attacks
According to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, the attacks on Kiev caused fires in five districts, damaging residential buildings, office and industrial sites, a dormitory and vehicles. Victoria Shejko, 32, was taking shelter in the corridor of her apartment block with her seven children and her husband when she heard loud explosions.
He said that when the siren sounded, we checked that ballistic missiles were coming, then we went into the corridor. After that the missiles started exploding one after the other. He said that the stress of continuous bombing is very difficult mentally. Earlier this used to happen once a week or less, but now if not every day, it happens every other day. Rescuers pulled four people out of a house on fire in the Sviatoshinsky district, while in the Shevchenkivsky district they rescued residents from a three-story building on fire. One person was found dead there. Firefighters also worked to extinguish fires in Solomiansky, Desnyansky and Dnipro districts.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed the attack on Kiev targeted sites linked to the Ukrainian military – including plants producing parts for Flamingo drones and Neptune guided missiles, as well as a postal terminal used to store dual-use goods and assemble drones, robotic systems and electronic warfare equipment.
Oil tankers attacked at main terminal off Russia’s coast
Separately, CPC (Caspian Pipeline Consortium) said on Sunday that oil loading was stopped due to the attack on two oil tankers at their terminal located near Russia’s Black Sea. The attack on the ASIA and NISSOS tankers at Novorossiysk port resulted in a fire on the ASIA tanker, which was later extinguished. The company did not say who was responsible for the attack.
The company further said that there were no casualties nor was there any oil leakage. These tankers bearing the flags of Liberia and Marshall Islands remained safe in the water. In the past week, both Russia and Ukraine have significantly increased attacks on ships in the Black Sea and Azov Sea. Ukraine says it targets Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’, which transports oil in violation of international sanctions imposed over the Kremlin’s attack on the neighboring country.
Kyiv has been targeting Russia’s oil industry for several months. He says this industry directly fuels Moscow’s war efforts and also funds them through export earnings. This has caused a huge shortage of fuel in Russia, one of the world’s largest oil producing countries.
The CPC is a 940-mile (1,510 km) long oil pipeline that connects Novorossiysk to Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea oil reserves. From here, oil is loaded into tankers and sent to markets around the world. The pipeline accounts for about 80 percent of oil-rich Kazakhstan’s crude exports, and the Russian government and Russian state oil companies have a combined stake of 31 percent in the venture.
Attacks on Russia’s energy sector
Additionally, Ukrainian President Zelensky announced on Sunday that Ukrainian units carried out attacks on Russian territory and energy infrastructure. He said units of Ukraine’s Security Service agency attacked three oil depots in the Stavropol region, while a separate army unit attacked another fuel facility in the same area. He said that three Russian tankers were also attacked in the Black Sea.
Stavropol Governor Vladimir Vladimirov had earlier said that industrial facilities had caught fire at two places in the area due to Ukrainian drone attacks. He did not specify what those facilities were, but said no one was injured.
Russian news outlet ‘Astra’ claimed on Sunday that three oil depots in Stavropol may have been on fire, based on analysis of photos and videos sent by locals after the attack.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Russian air defense systems shot down 140 Ukrainian drones overnight Sunday over eight Russian regions, Russia’s annexed Crimea, and over the Black and Azov Seas. The ministry did not say how many drones were launched or how many reached their targets. Ukrainian drones attacked four apartment buildings in Russia’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine, causing a fire and injuring one person, according to local governor Alexander Khinshtein.
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