Russia launched a large-scale missile attack in Ukraine on Friday, striking several cities including the capital, Kyiv, in an apparent attempt to probe the country’s air defences and to intimidate Ukraine’s allies.
Ukraine’s air force command said it had shot down 61 out of 70 cruise missiles and five Iranian-made drones. The figures included an earlier wave of 35 S-300 rockets fired on Thursday night. These landed in and around the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
The command’s spokesperson Yuri Ihnat said the Kremlin appeared to be carrying out a “reconnaissance attack” ahead of a possible major offensive. Western governments expect Vladimir Putin to launch a renewed bid to grab territory ahead of the anniversary on 24 February of his full-scale invasion.
Ihnat said Russian forces “traditionally” dispatched rockets and drones from eastern positions in Russia and the Azov Sea. On Friday, however, Moscow launched Kalibr cruise missiles from a frigate and a submarine in the Black Sea, as well as from the occupied southern city of Tokmak.
Ukraine’s commander in chief Valerii Zaluhnyi said two of these sea-launched rockets entered Moldovan and Romanian airspace soon after 10am local time, as air raid sirens rang out across the country. They then reentered Ukraine and the western Chernivtsi region, he suggested.
Romania’s foreign ministry categorically denied the report. It said the Russian cruise missiles came to within 22 miles (35km) of the country’s north-eastern border but did not violate its territory. Two MiG-21 aircraft on a training flight were diverted to monitor the area, it said.
“After about two minutes the situation was clarified and the two aircraft resumed their original mission,” the ministry added. Romania has been a member of Nato since 2004. It “constantly monitored” the vicinity next to Ukraine and cooperated with allied forces, the ministry said.
Moldova summoned the Russian ambassador over the incident and confirmed at least one missile had overflown its airspace. This is not the first time Russia has sent its missiles into Moldova, with the conflict now in danger of spilling out across the region. On Friday, Moldova’s pro-EU government resigned, adding to the sense of crisis.
Air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv and other cities around breakfast time on Friday. There were five booms in the Ukrainian capital, as air defence batteries shot down enemy missiles. A trail of white vapour could be seen above tower blocks and the railway station area. It was the first attack on Kyiv for two weeks.
Ukrainian officials describe Russian behaviour as cynical and provocative. They say Moscow deliberately targets Ukraine’s international border regions so when missiles are intercepted debris falls on neighbouring countries such as Poland and Belarus, itself a frequent launching pad for Russian plane and rocket attacks.
In a short video report on Friday Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had targeted civilians and civilian architecture. “Unfortunately there are victims,” he said. He added: “Today’s rockets are a challenge to Nato, to collective security. It’s terror that can and must be stopped. The world must stop it.”
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Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal said Putin’s ongoing effort to wipe out energy infrastructure was born of desperation. He said: “Russia cannot accept failures and therefore continues to terrorise the population. Another attempt to destroy the Ukrainian energy system and deprive Ukrainians of light, heat, and water.”
Mikhailo Podolyak, senior adviser to Zelenskiy, said Moscow had been “striking at cities all night and all morning”. He called on Ukraine’s western partners to speed up the delivery of sophisticated defensive systems, including long-range missiles and fighter jets.
Russia’s strikes on Friday came soon after Zelenskiy returned to Kyiv from a two-day European tour of London, Paris and Brussels. On the way back he met Poland’s president Andrzej Duda in the eastern city of Rzeszów.
Zelenskiy said they discussed the current situation on the battlefield, Ukraine’s defence needs, and further military cooperation and joint diplomatic steps. “I told Andrzej about the visit to Brussels,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram, saying that it was important Ukraine started negotiations to join the EU “already this year”.
“This would become a motivational factor for Ukrainian society and the army, which are going through difficult challenges,” Zelenskiy said.