Within 24 hours, Russia launched its third attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. This could be a new strategy by Moscow to hinder Ukraine’s counteroffensive. The Guardian reported that early this morning (May 30th), sirens sounded in Kiev and other areas of Ukraine.
“Another major attack. Stay in your shelters,” Mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko announced on Telegram.
The military authorities in Kiev also stated, “In the past 24 hours, the enemy has carried out three attacks on the city. The enemy continuously changes its offensive weapons, from a combination of missiles and UAVs to ballistic missiles and solely using UAVs.” According to the Kiev authorities, in the latest attack, Russia employed around 20 suicide UAVs.
Kiev officials stated that the city’s air defense systems intercepted a series of Russia’s suicide UAVs. Debris fell in several districts of the city, causing a fire in a high-rise building and a residential house.
“In the Holosiivskyi district, a fire broke out in a high-rise building due to debris from UAVs. Rescue forces evacuated about 20 people from the building. One person was killed, one injured and hospitalized, and two received first aid at the scene,” said Klitschko.
Some cars in the Podilskyi district also caught fire. According to Klitschko, rescue forces were dispatched to Podilskyi.
The local authorities continue to update the casualties from the attack.
This is the 17th attack by Russia on the Ukrainian capital in the past month.
According to Ukrainian officials, since the beginning of this month, Moscow has increased the frequency of attacks on Kiev using various weapons, including cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and UAVs from multiple directions almost simultaneously. Among them, an attack occurred in the middle of the day on May 29th. “The enemy has changed tactics; after a long period of only conducting attacks at night, they now attack the city during the day,” said Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force.
Kiev believes that Russia’s strategy aims to create psychological distress and weaken Ukraine’s air defense capabilities ahead of a potential counteroffensive.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced yesterday that the country’s military has set a time for the counteroffensive campaign.
“The Commander-in-Chief and the commanders of the military districts have reported the situation, not only regarding ammunition supply, training progress for new divisions, new tactics, but also the timing of the counteroffensive. The timing is crucial. We have made a decision,” Zelensky said. However, he did not disclose further details about the counteroffensive plan.
Earlier, he stated that Ukraine would launch an attack as soon as it has enough weapons, as pledged by Western allies and partners. The timing may depend on the weather. He emphasized that reclaiming any territory under Russian control would be considered a success.
Russian media speculates that the locations in Ukraine for the counteroffensive could include Kherson, Lugansk, or Zaporizhia. In addition, Kiev may consider striking border regions of Russia, such as Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod.