This is the largest attack “since the spring”, according to military authorities in Kyiv. This Wednesday, August 30, two people died following a “massive” drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, which was hit around 5 a.m. (4 a.m. French time). Several explosions were caused by anti-aircraft defense fire against Russian machines.
A total of 28 cruise missiles and 15 of the 16 Shahed attack drones were destroyed, the Air Force said, adding that a total of 44 projectiles were launched by Russian forces.
“As a result of falling debris in the Shevchenkivsky district of Kyiv […] two people died. Three other people were injured,” the head of the military administration of the Ukrainian capital, Sergiy Popko, said on Telegram, adding that two people had been hospitalized. “kyiv hasn’t seen such a strong attack since the spring. The enemy launched a massive attack,” he added, explaining that Russia first targeted Kiev with drones from different directions, then with missiles launched, he said, from Tu-bombers. 95MS.
kyiv was not the only target that night. Other parts of the country, such as Odessa and Mykolaiv in the south, also suffered night attacks. In the Donetsk region (East), another bombing killed two people on a farm in Bogatyr, men aged 44 and 59, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
Russian forces and territory were also targeted by multiple drones overnight and early Wednesday. One, a rare thing in the northwest of the country, destroyed or damaged several military planes at Pskov airport. The Russian army also indicated that it had neutralized multiple devices over the western regions of Moscow, Bryansk, Orel, Kaluga and Ryazan, as well as in Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
On the other hand, the Russian army made no mention of an attack against Pskov airport, announced however during the night by Mikhail Vedernikov, the governor of this region of northwestern Russia, bordering the Estonia, Latvia and Belarus, and located some 800 kilometers from Ukraine. If the attack does not seem to have caused any casualties, a video released by the governor shows an impressive fire, while explosions resound.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations quoted by state media, several “Il-76 military cargo aircraft” caught fire. No indication was given as to their condition or number, with the Russian agencies Tass and Ria citing two to four devices destroyed or damaged. All flights from Pskov airport on Wednesday have been canceled pending assessment of possible runway damage, Mikhail Vedernikov said.
In reality, estimating the losses on the Ukrainian side as well as on the Russian side remains complicated, because neither side publicly acknowledges its military losses.
Attacks against Russian territory have been more and more regular since the spring, with the launch in June of a Ukrainian counter-offensive intended to liberate the southern and eastern regions occupied by the Russian army. So far, the advances are reduced to little grief, but kyiv hopes to be able to break through the Russian fortifications, especially on the southern front where its last days the Ukrainian army has nibbled away at ground.