Attacks on Kyiv ahead of NATO summit: What is Putin's goal?
Kyiv suffered heavy Russian strikes ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara. Experts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to send a message. Ukraine
Kyiv suffered heavy Russian strikes ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara. Experts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to send a message. Ukraine is slowly recovering after yet another heavy Russian bombardment. Overnight on Monday, Russia launched a massive attack on the Ukrainian capital. At least 22 people were killed and dozens injured in Kyiv after residential buildings and infrastructure were struck. In the Kyiv region, the main target, 15 people died. Debris is being cleared at more than 20 sites. Ukraine lacks air defenses On the evening of July 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned citizens that intelligence reports indicated Russia was preparing a large attack. "This reflects Putin's mindset — immediately after the US Independence Day and ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara. Russia wants to cause even more harm and kill people," Zelenskyy said in a video message on the messaging platform Telegram. The president urged Ukrainians to heed air raid warnings. He also called on Ukraine's partners to speed up deliveries of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems. His warning proved accurate. According to Ukraine authorities, Russia launched 68 missiles of various types overnight, including Iskander-M ballistic missiles, 3M22 Zircon and Oniks cruise missiles as well as 351 drones. Although Ukrainian air defenses managed to intercept a high percentage of cruise missiles on July 6, they were unable to shoot down a single ballistic missile.
Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine's Air Force, said the main reason was a shortage of Patriot missiles. Several people killed after Russia batters Kyiv overnight To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "Ballistic attacks are once again hitting civilians. Because the enemy cannot achieve its goals on the battlefield, it is increasingly directing ballistic missiles at residential buildings and killing civilians," Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the latest bombardment as "one of the most brutal attacks ever, involving dozens of ballistic missiles." He called on NATO heads of government to be aware of what the people of Kyiv had to endure. "Protect Ukrainian children from Russian ballistic terror. There is no more urgent task," Sybiha wrote on the social network X. A message to NATO With the latest strike on Ukraine coming ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, Vladimir Putin wants to signal to the alliance that none of its decisions to support Ukraine can deter it, says Oleksandr Kraiev, an analyst at the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Prism foreign policy think tank. "He wants to intimidate Europeans and NATO allies so that at some point they view their support for Ukraine as pointless, with the message: 'No matter what you do, Putin will attack anyway'," Kraiev told DW Ivan Us of Ukraine's Institute for Strategic Studies also pointed to a connection between the bombardment and the NATO summit.
The BriefWire