On the early hours of Monday, Russia launched a formidable barrage of missiles toward Ukraine, causing significant destruction to buildings and injuries to at least 34 people in the eastern city of Pavlohrad.
Fortunately, Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, was spared from the brunt of the assault. The air raid sirens began wailing across Kyiv around 3:45 a.m., and the Ukrainian defense systems intercepted an impressive 15 of the 18 cruise missiles discharged from the Murmansk and Caspian regions, as per Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration, declared that all the missiles directed towards the city were shot down, including some drones, but he refrained from giving additional details, promising more information will be made available in due time.
On Friday, Ukraine was targeted with over 20 cruise missiles and two explosive drones, marking the first attack to hit Kyiv in nearly two months. The Russian missiles landed on an apartment building in Uman, a city located approximately 135 miles south of Kyiv, killing 21 individuals, including three minors.
In the most recent attack on Monday, the missiles hit Pavlohrad, causing harm to an industrial complex and a residential neighborhood. The assault inflicted damage on 19 apartment buildings, 25 homes, six schools, and five shops.
Furthermore, the attack damaged the power grid infrastructure, resulting in almost 20,000 people in the city of Kherson and surrounding areas losing power, according to Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko.
To improve its anti-missile defenses, Ukraine has recently acquired American-made Patriot missiles, but it remains unclear if they were employed to thwart the attack on Monday.
As Kyiv prepares for an expected counteroffensive this spring, Western allies have been supplying Ukrainian troops with ammunition and armor, as well as training them. Ukraine has also been bolstering its mechanized brigades.
The fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is attempting to encircle the city of Bakhmut. Russian troops, including the Wagner mercenary group, are engaging in house-to-house combat with Ukrainian forces, trying to take control of the road of life, the last remaining road in Ukrainian hands that leads westward and is crucial for supplies and fresh troops.
In an interview released on Monday, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, stated that Russia is continuing to make maximum effort to capture the city but has yet to succeed.
