The Russian Defence Ministry announced on Tuesday that its massive overnight strike on Ukraine was a response to what it termed 'terrorist acts' against targets within Russia. The ministry stated that it had struck a range of Ukrainian military facilities.
Details of the Attack
Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian drones and missiles pounded Kyiv and other cities early Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding more than 100. This followed days of warnings about Moscow's plans for a major assault.
'Overnight, in response to terrorist acts of the Kyiv regime, the armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out a massive strike using high-precision long-range air-, land-, and sea-based weapons,' the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Weapons Used and Targets
Russia utilized hypersonic missiles and drones to attack seven Ukrainian regions, including Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv. The strikes successfully targeted sites useful to the Ukrainian armed forces, such as fuel and transport facilities and military airfields.
Background and Context
The Kremlin had warned last week that Russia would begin 'systematic strikes' on targets in Kyiv in retaliation for what it claimed was a Ukrainian attack on a student dormitory in Russian-held Luhansk, which killed 21 people. Ukraine stated it had targeted a drone command center in the area, not students.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday evening that Kyiv had 'opened a new page in a series of crimes' with the dormitory strike and a subsequent strike on an apartment building in a Russian-held part of Ukraine's Kherson region.
Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians.
