Russian drones and missiles struck Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, on Tuesday, reportedly killing five people and wounding around 30 others. The attack, which targeted a number of civilian, non-military sites, came just after American envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, departed Ukraine.
The strikes marked a definitive end to the temporary three-day ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv that had been in place during Witkoff and Kushner’s visit to Kyiv. A dormitory, a clinic, a school, over a dozen high-rise apartment complexes, a warehouse, and other sites across Kyiv were struck by Russian munitions.
Putin at Award Ceremony Creative Commons Image
“It was a complex attack that the Russians tried to plan to cause as much harm to life as possible – ballistic missiles, cruise and anti-ship missiles, and jet-powered “shaheds,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted to X.
“There is significant damage to residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure in the capital. As of now,” Ukraine’s president added, “ten people are known to have been injured.”
A Pause in Strikes
Tasked with bringing the four-and-a-half-year war to a close, both Witkoff and Kushner met with the Ukrainian president and members of his cabinet.
The day before the talks in Kyiv, both men had separate meetings in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Though no breakthrough was forthcoming, Witkoff and Kushner sought to line up a tripartite meeting with Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, but no agreement to that end has been reached.
Though the three-day pause on strikes on Kyiv was a measure taken to ensure the American envoy’s safety, that pause has come to an end.
Ahead of the talks, Russia had ramped up pressure on Ukraine, launching attacks not just at night, when its munitions stood a greater chance of success, but around the clock, a reflection of Russia’s growing prowess in the air.
The Kremlin’s munitions have become increasingly sophisticated, with payload and range of one-way attack drones increasing — and reducing Ukraine’s ability to reliably down the explosive-laden weapons before they are able to land on their targets.
Pinched Air Defenses
With simultaneous conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, the global demand for air defense interceptors, in particular the American-made-and-designed Patriot air defense missile. But production of those exquisite defensive weapons requires long lead times.
Thousands of specialized components go into each interceptor and must be tested and validated at multiple stages throughout production to ensure reliability. Though many countries around the world have stockpiles of Patriot interceptors, many are loath to draw heavily on their supplies.
It has created an acute need for Patriots in Ukraine.
But help may be on the way. “The second step taken today with our partners on air defense: Germany is ready to provide missiles for Patriots,” President Zelensky wrote on X. “Thank you! These are exactly the kinds of decisions that bring peace closer: when you reduce the aggressor’s ability to destroy lives. It is important that the protection of life has sufficient strength.”
In a sign of just how squeezed Ukraine’s air defense situation has become, Russian forces managed to strike Ukraine’s Security Service on Friday, marking the first time that the office was hit during this war.
The German pledge to draw on its stockpile of Patriot interceptors is part of a broader contract for around 1,000 interceptors, arranged with Ukraine’s allies and financed by the European Union. Berlin will reportedly send Ukraine PAC-2 versions of the interceptor, which destroy incoming missiles by exploding and blanketing the air with shrapnel, shredding the missiles as they sail through the shrapnel cloud. Newer PAC-3 interceptors are more precise and ram into missiles kinetically.
Crucially, however, most of the 1,000 Patriot missiles pledged by Ukraine will be delivered only in the coming years, not immediately. Previously, London pledged £100 million to augment Ukraine’s air defenses, in part by purchasing Patriot air-defense interceptors from the United States. But according to Ukraine’s own estimates, it will need about 300 Patriot interceptors this winter alone.
The Land Campaign Grinds Onward
Russia has not made significant gains along the approximately 1,200-kilometer (around 750-mile) frontline in Ukraine, despite the enormous cost in men and materiel.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russia recently eclipsed 1,500,000 men killed and wounded in Ukraine. “This is the largest losses in a single war that the Russian Federation’s army has suffered since World War II,” the General Staff wrote.
“This figure exceeds the total losses of the Soviet and Russian armies in all wars and armed conflicts of the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century combined. This is 100 times more than the losses of the USSR in Afghanistan over 10 years. This is 125 times more than the officially recognized losses of the aggressor in the First and Second Chechen Wars.”
Ukrainian forces reportedly recaptured a small stretch of land near Lyman, in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, but experts warn that the upcoming fall months could see intense fighting.
As the weather becomes poor, drone operations become less effective, and Russian troops have in previous years attempted more mechanized assaults during that time.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
