Russia launches largest missile attack on Ukraine

Kyiv – Agencies: Acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced yesterday that Russia had struck his country with the largest number of ballistic missiles in a single attack since the start of its full-scale war. Writing on the X platform, Sybiha stated, “Russia launched the largest number of ballistic missiles since the beginning of the war in a brutal terrorist attack on the Ukrainian capital, resulting in deaths and injuries.” He added, “We call for appropriate and strong reactions. We need immense pressure on Moscow to end this terrorism.”

For its part, the Ukrainian Air Force said that air defenses intercepted 18 of the 41 missiles launched by Russia during the night between Saturday and Sunday. It added that 23 missiles and 10 drones hit 20 locations during the attack, which primarily targeted the capital, Kyiv, and that 108 of the 125 Russian drones were shot down.

Earlier, Ukrainian officials said Russian missiles targeted the Ukrainian capital and its surrounding area early yesterday, killing at least one person and injuring 13, while sparking fires across the city.

For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a wide-ranging nighttime strike on Ukrainian infrastructure, energy facilities, ports, military-industrial centers, drone assembly and manufacturing hubs, and logistics. It added that “Russian forces launched a large-scale attack on infrastructure at the Yuzhny port in the Odesa region, used for the delivery and storage of military shipments and fuel.”

The ministry noted that during the strikes, the Radionics factory in Kyiv, which assembles and manufactures electronic components, was hit. The facility produces guidance systems for Flamenco winged missiles, FP-7 and FP-9 operational-tactical missiles, guided Neptune missiles, and counterparts to the S-300 guided anti-aircraft missiles and rockets. The Spetsbormash Artem rocket and space factory, which manufactures rocket control systems, was also targeted.

On Saturday, Ukraine launched drone attacks targeting warehouses in the Moscow and Tambov regions belonging to the e-commerce giant Wildberries, resulting in the deaths of eight people and sparking large fires.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X about “strikes on two major logistics facilities in Moscow and Tambov, located more than 500 and 700 kilometers from the front line,” stating that these centers were used “to supply sanctioned components used to produce drones and navigation equipment.”

In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian territory in response to Russian shelling of its own regions. Ukrainian strikes have targeted Russian oil facilities, exacerbating a severe fuel crisis in one of the world’s largest oil-producing countries.