(KYIV, UKRAINE) – At least 15 people were killed in a large-scale Russian missile and drone assault on the Ukrainian capital, prompting a day of mourning to be declared for Friday. The bombardment, which began just after midnight and continued into the morning, caused widespread damage across the city and surrounding region, hitting civilian infrastructure including a children’s hospital and a kindergarten.
The attack involved a combination of 44 cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles, and 168 drones, according to Ukrainian officials. Air defence forces reportedly intercepted 39 of the cruise missiles, both ballistic missiles, and 145 of the drones. The Ukrainian military, under a policy to withhold certain data, did not specify the number of ballistic and hypersonic missiles launched. Thousands of properties in western and southeastern suburbs of Kyiv, as well as the nearby city of Brovary, suffered power outages.
In a separate incident connected to the overnight activity, Romania’s Defence Ministry reported that one of its F-16 fighter jets shot down a Russian naval attack drone in the Black Sea. The drone, loaded with explosives, was destroyed only a few hundred metres from the Neptune Deep gas facility within Romania’s exclusive economic zone, approximately 80 miles east of Constanța.
This escalation came as the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was forced to publicly acknowledge a series of successful strikes against Wildberries logistics facilities across Russia. At least 20 Wildberries warehouses have been destroyed by fire over the last month, resulting in an estimated 480 billion roubles ($6 billion / £4.73 billion) in losses. “Such attacks have not caused and could not cause critical consequences. However, they do inflict damage,” Putin said, before stating that “some logistics and warehouses require restoration.”
The attacks on Wildberries and continued strikes on Russian oil infrastructure are reportedly having a tangible impact on the domestic situation in Russia. Footage from at least 12 regions shows long queues at petrol stations. Data from a Russian crowdsourcing app indicates gasoline was available at only 28 percent of all petrol stations this week, a significant drop from 41 percent the previous week.
In response to public complaints, Russian authorities appear to be intensifying censorship. In Volgograd, police detained five residents who had delivered a petition about fuel shortages. A man in Perm was fined 10,000 roubles ($120 / £95) for attempting to organise a protest on a Telegram channel with 44 subscribers. Paramilitary units from Rosgvardia have reportedly been deployed to at least 13 petrol stations, including in Moscow and St. Petersburg, to manage civil unrest.
Elsewhere, the Ukrainian military released cockpit footage from a MiG-29 fighter jet belonging to the 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade. The pilot used the video to request funding for a minibus for his unit. Separately, footage has emerged from the 11th Separate Army Aviation Brigade showing a crew member in a Yak-52 trainer aircraft shooting down a Russian drone with a rifle.
In domestic politics, the former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov appears to have lost momentum following his call for wartime elections. Dmytro Kotinsky, an organiser of recent protests, publicly rejected the idea, stating he views “elections during wartime negatively” and could not imagine how to technically enable frontline soldiers to vote. Analysts suggest Mr Fedorov may have overplayed his hand, with key figures such as former president Petro Poroshenko remaining silent on the matter.
In an update on a diplomatic row, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has condemned Hungary’s decision to close a money laundering investigation into a Ukrainian bank convoy that was seized in March. Hungarian authorities had seized two bank vehicles transporting a shipment of cash and briefly detained accompanying Ukrainian bank employees. The Tax and Customs Administration in Hungary has now determined no crime was committed. Mr Sybiha said those who fabricated the sham must be held accountable, adding that “betting on anti-Ukrainian rhetoric for domestic gain yields nothing but political defeat and shame.”
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