Moscow Announces "Massive" Strike on Ukraine Targeting Airfields and Military Facilities

The Russian Ministry of Defence announced today, Sunday, that its forces carried out a "massive strike" on Ukraine, primarily targeting military airfields and institutions of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex. This announcement coincides with Ukrainian reports of one of the fiercest attacks on the capital, Kyiv, since the start of the war.

Declared Russian Targets and Attack Details

The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that the strike was executed with "high-precision, long-range air and sea-based weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles." The targets announced by Moscow included:

• Institutions of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex used in favour of the Armed Forces.

• Infrastructure of military airfields.

• Substation transfer points used for transporting weapons via railway in the Donbas.

• Temporary deployment points for Ukrainian forces in 147 areas.

• Continuation of targeting the encircled Ukrainian Armed Forces formations south of the Kleban-Bek reservoir in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.

Ukrainian Response and Attack Impact

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the night attack as extremely intense, noting that Russia launched "about 500 drones and more than 40 missiles." Zelenskyy added that Moscow "wants to continue fighting and killing and deserves nothing but the strongest pressure from the world."

• Casualties: Ukrainian authorities confirmed the deaths of at least four people and dozens injured, particularly in the capital, Kyiv. Residents sought shelter in underground metro stations.

• Ukrainian Foreign Ministry: Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote that "Russia launched a new massive air attack on Ukrainian cities while the population was asleep," pointing to the destruction of residential buildings and civilian casualties by hundreds of drones and missiles.

Pro-Russian Accounts and Other Developments

Sergey Lebedev, the coordinator of pro-Russian underground groups in the Mykolaiv region, confirmed that the Russian strikes included weapon depots and air defense systems in and around Kyiv, carried out in successive waves of drones and missiles.

Lebedev also pointed to targets including:

• The main base of the Ukrainian Navy in the Ochakiv area of the Mykolaiv region.

• Air defence targets in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, and supply points in the Kirovohrad region.

Separately, Poland closed its airspace near two of its southeastern cities and deployed its air force for monitoring.