(KYIV, UKRAINE) – A wave of overnight Russian ballistic missile strikes has killed at least 12 people in and around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
Residents spent another night in shelters, underground car parks and metro stations as Russia launched the massive attack in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Apartment blocks, warehouses and a children’s hospital were hit. Power supplies have been disrupted in some areas, and people are reported to be trapped in one of the city’s bomb shelters.
An air raid alert was issued for most of Ukraine as other parts of the country also came under attack. At least five people were killed and dozens wounded in the capital and its surrounding region.
Matthew Schmidt, associate professor at the National Security Department of the University of New Haven, said Ukraine’s ability to intercept ballistic missiles is declining. He said the country is “basically at the bottom of its inventory” of PAC-3 interceptor missiles.
Schmidt estimated that Ukraine has perhaps a dozen or a couple of dozen interceptors reserved for strategic sites. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the country needs around 300 PAC-3 interceptors to get through the winter. Total production of these interceptors last year was 600.
NATO is attempting to source additional interceptors from member countries. Canada has offered some, but numbers and delivery timelines remain unclear. “We see attacks like tonight. We know they are not there yet,” Schmidt said.
Russia is simultaneously increasing its production capacity of the missiles striking Kyiv.
Schmidt also addressed the political situation in Ukraine following former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s call for wartime elections. He said Fedorov is emerging as a political challenger to Zelenskyy but noted that political activity is a sign of Ukraine’s democratic health.
“Politics is happening in Ukraine. This is what makes Ukraine Ukraine and not Russia. People are on the streets. They are not getting arrested. They are not getting shot. Fedorov is there. He is able to engage in political speech and to organise,” Schmidt said.
He described this as “a very healthy sign for the country overall, whatever kind of immediate headache it may pose for the Zelenskyy administration.”
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