War in Ukraine: Russia launches a barrage of missiles on Kiev in the worst attack in recent weeks

Ukraine announced Thursday that it shot down 31 Russian missiles aimed at Kiev the largest attack against the capital in recent weeksafter Moscow promised to take revenge for Ukrainian bombings in the border regions with Russia.

After these attacks in the Ukrainian capital and its regionwhich caused 17 injuries, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj once again asked his Western allies multiple anti-aircraft systemscoinciding with an EU summit in Brussels dedicated to the issue of military support for his country.

“This terror continues day and night”, the president said in a message on Telegram. But “it is possible to put an end to it” if there is “the unity of the world”, he added.

“Ukraine needs this protection now. From Kiev to Kharkiv, from Sumi to Kherson, from Odessa to the Donetsk region. It is quite possible if our partners show sufficient political will”He insisted.

“All missiles were shot down in the Kiev region,” the Ukrainian Air Force said, adding that the Russian projectiles also included two ballistic missiles. Iskander and Kinzhal, as well as 29 bomber-launched cruise missiles.

But the remains of the intercepted bullets fall to the ground causing chaos. According to Ukrainian authorities, around 17 people were injured, 13 in the capital and 4 in the suburbs.

The Russian army, for its part, provided assurances having targeted “decision centers, logistics bases and temporary deployment points” of the Ukrainian forces and also claimed to have achieved “all its objectives”.

But Zelensky published a video in which Windows residential buildings exploded and debris littered the streetswhile firefighters intervened in a fire.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba has asked the US Congress to “save lives” by allocating $60 billion in aid to Kiev, which has been blocked for months by political disputes between Democrats and Republicans.

European leaders will meet Thursday and Friday in Brussels to discuss how to better arm Ukraine and, at the same time, strengthen the bloc’s defense.

This is the first major attack against Kiev and surrounding areas since early February and comes after Ukraine multiplied bombings in Russia’s border regions, especially in Belgorod.

On Thursday, in this region, a Ukrainian bombing caused five injuries.

“In the city of Belgorod, more than 30 apartments and six residential buildings were damaged by shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces,” regional governor Viacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

The person responsible published images showing damaged facades and broken windows in some apartment buildings.

Putin: “These attacks will not go unpunished”

President Vladimir Putin said this last week, following a series of drone, rocket and artillery attacks by Kiev on Russian soil “These enemy attacks will not go unpunished.”

The president promised to restore “security” in the border areas and insisted that Russia has “a plan” to achieve victory against Kiev.

The FSB, Russia’s security services, said Thursday that it had arrested a Russian citizen in Belgorod who was preparing “terrorist acts against the army”, according to state media.

This man is believed to be part of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a pro-Ukrainian militia which, according to the same source, claimed to be behind the incursions on Russian soil last week.

In the groundRussian forces continue to advance slowly, face an increasingly exhausted Ukrainian army, due to lack of men and ammunition. In Europe it is believed that the Ukrainian front will fall between April and May.

Russia claimed responsibility for the capture of the town of Tonenke on Thursdaylocated west of Avdiivka, a town on the Eastern Front that Moscow’s troops occupied earlier this month after a long battle.