Russia launches mass missile, drone attack, targets Ukrainian cities far from front line
Editor’s note: This is a breaking story and is being updated.
Russia launched another mass missile and drone attack overnight on July 9 targeting Ukrainian cities, including in the country’s far-west regions, located hundreds of kilometers from the front line.
Late spring and early summer in Ukraine have been marked by disturbingly frequent mass attacks on civilian targets, with Russia regularly terrorizing cities with ballistic and cruise missiles alongside record-breaking numbers of kamikaze drones.
Ukraine’s Air Force warned late on July 8 that Russia had launched MiG-31 aircraft from the Savasleyka airfield in Nizhny Novgorod, putting the entire country under an active missile threat. Swarms of drones were also heading towards multiple cities in Ukraine, the military said.
Explosions rocked Kyiv at around midnight on July 9, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground. Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that Russian drones were attacking the city center and that air defenses were shooting down targets.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported drones and missiles targeting Ukraine’s far-west regions with alerts of overhead drones approaching the western cities of Lutsk, Khmelnytskyi, and Ternopil.
Explosions were also reported in communities closer to the front line, including Dnipro, Sumy, as well as over Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
No information was immediately available on any damage or casualties.
Russian ballistics and kamikaze drones have targeted Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with renewed ferocity, killing dozens of civilians and injuring hundreds more.
The renewed attacks on Ukraine comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to send 10 Patriot interceptors to Ukraine, amid escalating tension between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It’s a horrible thing, and I’m not happy with President Putin at all,” Trump said. “I’m disappointed frankly that President Putin hasn’t stopped (the attacks),” Trump said on July 8. The comments come after the Pentagon halted air defense weapon shipments to Ukraine.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk