Russia launched the largest air attack against Ukraine of the entire war: 122 missiles, 36 drones and at least 24 dead

Russia was launched 122 missiles and dozens of drones against Ukrainian targets, authorities indicated Friday, killing at least 24 civilians In what the Ukrainian Air Force described as the largest air offensive in the 22 months of war.

At least 130 people were injured during the attack and an unknown number were buried under the rubble. It lasted 18 hours, the Ukrainian authorities indicated. Among the buildings hit across the country were a maternity hospital, several apartments and schools.

The airstrike began on Thursday and continued overnight in six cities, including the capital Kiev and other areas from the east to the west of the country.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said this in Moscow “he threw seemingly everything he had”with the exception of Kalibr missiles from submarines.

During the night, several dozen missiles were launched towards him Kiev, of which more than 30 were intercepted, said Serhii Poplo, head of the capital’s military administration. Three deaths were recorded in the capital and a heavy fire in a warehouse in the Podil district, where five people were saved from the rubble.

In Boyarka, a city near Kiev, debris from a downed drone fell on a house and started a fire. In statements reported by the AP agency, one victim said that her mother was sleeping next to the room where the rubble had fallen and was taken to hospital in a state of shock. Another neighbor said neighbors ran with buckets of water to put out the fire, but it spread quickly.

In the eastern city of Dnipro, five people were reported dead and twenty others injured. Furthermore, four patients from a maternity hospital were saved from a fire.

In OdessaOn the country’s southern coast, falling debris from a drone caused a fire in a multi-storey residential building, regional head Oleh Kiper said. He stated that two people died and 15 others, including two minors, were injured.

For his part, the mayor of the western city of LvivAndrii Sadovyi, reported one dead and eight injured as well as damage to three schools and a kindergarten.

In the north-east of Ukraine, the mayor of KharkivIhor Terekhov said the city was subjected to at least three waves of airstrikes overnight that included S-300 and Kh-21 missiles. According to authorities, one person was killed and at least nine others were injured.

In statements reported by the AP agency, one victim said his mother was sleeping next to the room where the rubble had fallen and was taken to hospital in a state of shock. Another neighbor said neighbors ran with buckets of water to put out the fire, but it spread quickly.

Zelenskyj’s message

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Kremlin forces used a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles. “Today Russia uses almost all types of weapons in its arsenal.”he pointed to the president in

“Maternity hospital, educational institutions, shopping centers, skyscrapers and private houses, commercial warehouses, parking lots. Kiev, Lviv, Odessa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and other cities of ours,” he listed the affected buildings and cities.

“Unfortunately, due to the bombings, there are deaths and injuries. All services work better and provide the necessary assistance to people. My deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims and a speedy recovery to the injured,” He added .

And he contested: “We will certainly respond to terrorist attacks. And we will fight to ensure the safety of our country, of every city and of all our people. “Russian terrorism must lose… and will.”

As also explained by the head of the Ukrainian army Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian air force intercepted most of the Shahed-type ballistic and cruise missiles and drones during the night.

Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel that it was “the most massive air attack” since the full-scale invasion of Moscow at the end of February 2022.

So far, according to the department, the largest attack was recorded in November 2022, when Russia launched 96 missiles at the neighboring country. According to their data, this year the worst occurred on March 9, with 81 missiles.

Western officials and analysts had warned that Russia had limited its cruise missile attacks in recent months in an apparent attempt to build up reserves to carry out massive strikes over the winter, seeking to break Ukrainian morale.

Help request

On the front the fighting is practically paralyzed Due to the onset of winter, they failed to make significant progress along the approximately 1,000 kilometers of the contact line after the Ukrainian summer counteroffensive.

Ukrainian authorities have urged their Western allies to do so send in more anti-air defenses to protect themselves from advances like today’s. Their appeals coincide with signs of war fatigue, hampering efforts to maintain support.

In this sense, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the massive attack should push the world to act more in support of Ukraine.

“These widespread attacks on Ukrainian cities prove this Putin will not stop first and foremost to achieve their goal of eradicating freedom and democracy,” Sunak said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “We must continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the scale of the attack should awaken people to Ukraine’s continuing needs.

“Today millions of Ukrainians woke up to the loud noise of explosions,” he wrote on X. “I wish those sounds of explosions in Ukraine could be heard all over the world. In all major capitals, headquarters and parliaments where they are currently discussing whether to give more support to Ukraine,” she added.