Ukraine complains daily about a lack of anti-aircraft missiles to protect against Russian air strikes. Moscow is once again taking advantage of this - with massive attacks against Kyiv.
Kyiv/Moscow. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, at least 15 people were killed in massive Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Klitschko repeatedly cited a higher number of deaths in the morning and morning after the nightly attacks. The elimination of the consequences is ongoing, he said. Civil defense said 34 were injured. In the Kyiv region, authorities reported one dead and seven injured following the attacks.
Russia has recently been increasingly using ballistic missiles in air strikes - knowing that Ukraine complains about a daily shortage of anti-aircraft missiles. The Defense Ministry in Moscow confirmed the attack. In Kyiv, arms factories and warehouses for ammunition and drones were hit.
According to authorities, there were several fires and power outages. Residential buildings, including a high-rise building, a children's hospital and a school, were also hit, authorities said. People sought shelter in the subway.
"Tomorrow, August 21, will be declared a day of mourning in Kiev. In memory of the victims of the enemy's massive attack on the capital," Mayor Klitschko said on Telegram. On this day, the flags on all municipal buildings in the city should be flown at half-mast. Klitschko also recommended doing the same with flags on state and private buildings in the capital.
Zelenskyj criticizes targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of a massive combined attack with various types of rockets, cruise missiles and drones. The Russians had been preparing for this for a long time in order to “damage the civilian infrastructure as much as possible.” There is also destruction in the Odessa and Chernihiv regions.
“Unfortunately, while Moscow invests in missile weapons and escalation, there is not always the necessary world response to such attacks,” the president said on Telegram. “And as long as Ukraine does not have sufficient missile defense, Russia will not seriously consider peace.” Although Ukraine is working on its own missile defense, the country still needs the Patriot interceptor missiles.
Russia also reported hundreds of Ukrainian drone strikes
The violence in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has recently escalated significantly with an increasing number of civilian victims on both sides. The warring parties are using ever faster, more powerful and long-range weapons.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported the downing of a total of 726 Ukrainian drones in various regions. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin alone reported that 250 Ukrainian drones were shot down approaching the capital. He did not provide any information about possible victims or damage. The capital's airports temporarily stopped take-offs and landings during the night, as they do almost every day during such attacks.
An oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk in the Russian republic of Tatarstan was hit again, and an important oil terminal in the Black Sea region in the town of Volna near Taman in the Krasnodar region, as the Ukrainian General Staff announced. The Russian authorities did not confirm this specifically, but spoke of fires and damage to industrial facilities following Ukrainian drone attacks. There were also injuries in Tatarstan.
