We start with the war in Ukraine on day 447 of this war. On most days, the story remains the same: more violence, more deaths, and bitter words, but today is different. Today, Russia launched a fierce attack on Ukraine.
These were aerial attacks; they targeted the capital Ukraine 2 is attacking Russia, and it’s striking deep inside Russian health territory. The intensity of the fighting has increased, as has the urgency. They seem to be fighting to the finish.
The question is, is this the beginning of the end of this war? Let’s start with the Russian attacks on Kiev. Last night, Russia stepped up its aerial attacks. A barrage of missiles was fired at Kiev. This happened at 2:30 a.m. local time.
Emergency sirens were activated. The city was woken up. Soon, loud explosions were heard. Soon, and the sky was lit up by large flashes of light. These were Russian missiles being neutralised by Ukrainian air defence.
I hope everyone is okay. Reports say Russia attacked here from three directions: the north, the south, and the east. Russia fired at least 18 missiles from land, sea, and air. Also, six Iranian Shahid drones and three reconnaissance drones were pressed into service, so Russia went after Kiev with full force, but it failed to inflict much damage.
It was a tense night for Pierre. Consider what one of the foreign diplomats said: “This is the British ambassador to Ukraine. A full-on aerial attack on care last night.” Pretty intense bangs and shaking walls are not an easy night.
As of this afternoon, no deaths were reported, and at least three people were injured. So what was the purpose of this attack? Reports say Moscow wanted to destroy Kiev’s air defences. Ukraine uses the U.S.-made Patriot air defence systems; they arrived a week ago and were supplied by the U.S. and Germany.
The Patriots have enhanced Ukraine’s defences, and that’s what Russia is trying to break through. Relentless airstrikes have the objective of weakening Ukraine before a larger attack. What about Ukraine’s response? Well, they too are intensifying attacks today.
They struck deep inside Luhansk. This is a city in the east, and it’s under Russian control. Ukraine used long-range missiles for the strike, and this is the first time Ukrainian forces have done this. Earlier, they did not have these capabilities; they couldn’t strike targets that were far away, but now they can, and their targets are command and control centres of the Russian military.
Moscow has issued a statement about this. It says Ukraine is deploying British-made Storm Shadow missiles and that Russian forces took down at least one of them but missed others. The Kremlin has also issued a threat.
The reported British supplies of long-range missiles will require an adequate response from our military, which will consider the relevant decisions from a military point of view. So Russia is threatening a response, but the new weapons give Ukraine the edge.
Earlier in the war, Russia had the edge. Now that Ukraine has neutralised Russia, it has new missiles and weapons that can reach most of the occupied territories in the east, even Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Zielinski has the weapons, and he’s sourcing more, and he won’t be shy about using them. We’re returning home with new military help, newer and more powerful weapons for the front, more protection for our people, and greater political support in the three days he’s visited. Let me show you the list.
The most significant package comes from Germany and includes another 30 leopard tanks. 20 armoured fighting vehicles 16 air defence systems and more than 200 drones, as well as a range of other arms and ammunition.
France and Italy have promised to send tanks, ammunition, and air defence systems. The UK has pledged more. Their package includes hundreds of air defence missiles and more armed drones. Why such an aggressive push now?
Why is Zielinski being given so many weapons? For a change, the Western powers seem to have clarity on what they want Ukrainian forces to do to reclaim more land to push the Russians back and secure their gains.
The idea is to get more leverage on the battlefield before any peace negotiations can begin, so for Zelenski, it is now or never. If he cannot secure sizable victories now, he risks losing support from the West because, frankly, no one has an endless supply of weapons and money, and no one wants a forever war.
