Russian Missiles Rain Down On Ukraine — One Of The Biggest Since Onset Of War

Ukraine reported a massive strike by Russia in the capital Kyiv and other cities across the country.

What Happened: Local Ukrainian officials said at least 17 Russian missiles hit the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia within an hour in the heaviest attack since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine last year, reported Reuters.

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National grid operator Ukrenergo said several energy facilities in eastern, southern and western Ukraine were hit, causing a power supply disruption in the country. 

“The air alert will be long,” said Maksym Marchenko, the regional governor of the southern region of Odesa. 

“Please do not ignore the air alert sirens, and go to the shelters.”

Why It's Important: In the past few weeks, Ukraine has repeatedly warned that Putin is planning a new offensive against Kyiv as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches. The national security chief of Ukraine, earlier this week, had warned of renewed attacks in northeastern Kharkiv or southern Zaporizhzhia regions.

“They need to have something to show before their people and have a major desire to do something big, as they see it, by this date,” Oleksiy Danilov had said.

Ukrainian air defenses had shot down five of seven drones and five out of six Kaliber missiles launched at Kyiv, Ukrainian Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television. However, the 35 S-300 missiles launched in the Kharkiv and Zaporizhizhia regions weren’t shot down as the country’s air defenses could not tackle these types of missiles.

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