Russia successfully launched “waves of drones” at Kyiv and the areas around the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday and Thursday, striking homes as well as warehouses, Reuters reported. One person was reported killed.
The attacks also destroyed “sorting centers” owned by Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s top private courier. Another Russian drone struck the home-improvement store Epicenter in Zaporizhzhia.
Tu-22M Backfire Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Tu-22M3 Russian Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Another attack struck and destroyed a major book retailer.
In all, 38 attacks occurred in 24 hours.
“The enemy is launching small numbers of jet-powered UAVs in waves with the aim of paralyzing Kyiv,” Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD), said, as cited by Reuters.
“The aim – to wear down the air defenses and the population.” Ukraine, the story said, spent 15 hours under air alert.
Testing Defenses
An Associated Press story about the bombardment that began on Wednesday quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as calling it a “massive” strike that hit nine cities.
The Ministry also described the attacks as military-related, even as they struck numerous civilian areas.
The AP account put the death toll at two, including a 78-year-old woman in the Zaporizhzhia region, and one other person in the northern Kharkiv region, in addition to 14 others who were wounded.
The story positioned the attacks as another test of Ukraine’s highly depleted air defenses.
Zelensky Speaks
In a social media post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of efforts to deal with the aftermath of the latest Russian attacks.
He also called for help building up Ukraine’s air defenses.
“Russia continues to invest in missiles and in expanding its war, and that means more countermeasures are needed,” Zelensky said in the post.
“This week, our European allies made important decisions to strengthen Ukrainian air defense. It is important that these are also supplemented by additional ballistic missile defense packages, first and foremost through PURL.”
PURL is the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, a procurement system set up through NATO to provide Ukraine with needed weapons.
“Everything that strengthens the protection of our skies effectively saves the lives of Ukrainians every day. To bring down Russia’s desire to keep fighting, we need to effectively bring down the missiles Moscow clings to so much to keep the war going,” the Ukrainian leader added.
Ukraine Strikes Back
Ukraine did notch a successful strike at Russia this week, as Zelensky said on social media that Ukraine “struck an oil refinery in the Yaroslavl region,” 1,000 miles from the front line. Videos were included in the post.
Zelensky also said that the Security Service of Ukraine’s Alpha unit “struck a Tu-95MS missile-carrying aircraft” in Russia’s Engels.
“I thank all our warriors for their accuracy! All of this is a response to their strikes. Russians must feel what their war is like,” Zelensky added.
Also this week, United 24 Media reported that Ukrainian missiles had successfully hit two Russian military facilities, in what the site calls “temporarily occupied Donetsk.”
Cruise missiles, the report said, hit “an underground parking area of an unfinished residential complex and buildings of the former UkrStateNDIplastmas research institute.” Exilenova+ published video footage of the strike. One of the facilities, the site said, “may have housed the command post of Russia’s 51st Combined Arms Army,’ Exilenova+ said.
Warehouse Wars
And the Moscow Times reported that Ukrainian drones on Thursday struck warehouses belonging to Ozon, which is Russia’s second-largest online retailer, after weeks of attacks on facilities belonging to the #1 retailer, Wildberries. Ukraine reportedly hit eight of the e-commerce retailer’s ten largest facilities.
Those attacks, meant to bring Russia’s war home, have disrupted commerce throughout the country and have also been costly to the company’s founder, Tatyana Kim. According to TVP World, the attacks have dealt a $3 billion blow to the net worth of Kim, Russia’s wealthiest woman, in a matter of months.
“Forbes Russia now estimates Tatyana Kim’s wealth at $5 billion, down from $8.1 billion when its global billionaires ranking was compiled in late February – a drop of about 38%,” the report said. However, Kim remains the richest woman in the country.
The Wildberries attacks have likely encouraged Russia to attack Ukraine’s retail and e-commerce infrastructure, as they did this week.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
