Putin hits Kiev with ‘exceptionally complex’ drone and missile attacks

Russia launched a brutal drone and missile attack on Ukraine’s capital early Tuesday, just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would return from a European tour with a replenished arsenal. The Kyiv city military administration said Tuesday’s attack — the eighth on the capital this month and certainly the most intense — involved drones, cruise missiles and likely ballistic missiles launched “simultaneously from different directions.”

Kyiv official Serhiy Popko said the night attack had been “exceptionally complex and dense.” He said: “The maximum number of missiles were fired at the city in the shortest time … the vast majority of enemy targets in Kiev’s airspace were detected and destroyed.”

Kiev’s busy Solomyansky district, home to the international airport, was the worst damaged, with a fire breaking out in a non-residential building. According to Telegram reports from Mayor Vitali Klitschko, three people were injured in Solomyansky, while rocket debris fell in the Obolonsky district, a leafy suburb.

The latest attack on Kiev follows Zelensky’s collection of a slew of new arms supplies pledges from Berlin, Paris and London, deepening a military arrangement between the West and Ukraine that has left Russia at a disadvantage.

After his whirlwind tour of major European capitals, Zelensky tweeted Monday night that he was “returning home with new defense packages.” It is widely believed that Ukrainian forces are gearing up for a long overdue counter-offensive against Russian forces, with gains already claimed around the Bakhmut focal point.

But Zelensky has yet to succeed in his coveted goal of employing Western fighter jets to take command of the skies, even though British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced preparations to open a flight school to train Ukrainian pilots on Monday . France has also offered to train Ukrainian fighter pilots, though President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out sending fighter jets to Kiev.

And as Russia’s ally China vie to act as a peace broker, sending an envoy to Kiev this week, Moscow’s reported attempt to acquire more drones carrying military collaborator Iran has sparked anger in Washington. “This is a large-scale defense partnership that is damaging to Ukraine, to the Middle East region and to the international community,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday, adding that further sanctions would be imminent. be announced. Pictured: Zelensky is welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron upon his arrival at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on May 14, 2023. Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-ff /Putin-hits-Kyiv-exceptionally-complex-simultaneous-attack-drones-ballistic-missiles.html?ito=msngallery

Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page here and hit the follow button above for more news you need.