Russia has launched the largest ballistic missile attack on Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
According to Al Jazeera, Ukraine’s foreign minister said Moscow has unleashed another night of powerful air attacks on Kyiv, firing its largest number of ballistic missiles of the war.
Ukrainian officials said that the hours-long attacks spanned six districts of Kyiv early on Sunday, July 19, killed one and injured at least 16 others.
The latest bombardment highlights mounting challenges for Ukraine in its fifth year of war as it weathers almost daily Russian attacks with a shortage of Patriot air defence missiles, which are its best chance of downing ballistic missiles.
Domestic tensions are also high due to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s removal of his defence minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle, which has sparked protests on the streets and dismay among many Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukraine foreign minister calls Putin ‘coward’
Russia’s strikes on Sunday sparked fires across Kyiv, damaging residential buildings, offices, industrial sites, a dormitory and vehicles.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the ballistic missile barrage “a brutal terrorist attack on the Ukrainian capital” that demanded a firm response.
He wrote on X, “The coward in Moscow, who is afraid to meet with President Zelenskyy to end the war, continues to wage a war against civilians… We urge appropriate and strong responses. We need devastating pressure on Moscow to end this terror.”
“There can be no pauses in increasing sanctions and isolation of Russia. The 21st EU package must be unblocked now. There can be no pauses in the protection of life. Agreements on additional interceptors must be implemented without delay. Everyone who is holding back these vital protection tools from delivery should know that the cost of delay is measured in human lives,” Sybiha added.
Russia has launched several large-scale waves of attacks on Kyiv in July, using ballistic missiles on at least seven occasions at a time when Ukraine is short of Patriot interceptor missiles.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s air force said it downed 18 of 41 missiles launched by Russia overnight.
Ukraine also said its forces struck two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, continuing its strategy of trying to starve the Russian-occupied peninsula Crimea of fuel and supplies by targeting shipping.
