Massive attack of drones and missiles on Kyiv: What's Russia's strategy? | DW News

Key Concepts

• Russian Attacks on Ukraine: Coordinated drone and missile strikes targeting infrastructure and residential areas.
• Ukrainian Counterattacks: Strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities and drone production sites.
• Air Defense Systems: Ukraine's efforts to intercept Russian aerial attacks, often overwhelmed by the volume of strikes.
• Energy Infrastructure: Targets of Russian attacks, leading to power outages and disruptions.
• Propaganda: Russia's narrative to domestic audiences about the nature of the war.
• Economic Warfare: Ukraine's strategy to disrupt Russia's oil exports, a key source of funding for the war.
• Western Support: Ukraine's reliance on Western armaments and sanctions to counter Russia.

Russian Attacks on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Residential Areas

Six people were killed and dozens injured in a calculated Russian attack on Kyiv in the early hours of Friday morning. The barrage of drones and missiles overwhelmed Ukraine's air defense systems, targeting power and water infrastructure as well as residential areas.

Specific Incident in Kyiv: A Ukrainian mother described escaping her apartment with her 14-year-old son through a window as flames blocked their exit. They were lowered out by people on the ground, but the mother sustained a leg injury. The attack resulted in the deaths of three people in the two flats adjacent to hers, including a neighbor and his father, who were killed by falling debris.

Scale of the Attack: According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian forces deployed 430 drones and 18 missiles. While most were intercepted, falling debris and fires caused damage to residential buildings and casualties.

Ukrainian Response and Counterattacks

In response to the attacks, Ukraine launched drones and long-range missiles into Russian territory, targeting Moscow's oil and gas facilities. Ukrainian Member of Parliament Inna Sovsun stated, "Russians will increasingly be unable to turn a blind eye to the war. Now it is loud enough and it is clear what is really happening because we have our entirely justified Ukrainian response to everything Russia is doing against us against our people."

Separate Strike in Odesa Region: Several people were killed in a separate Russian strike later on Friday morning near a local market in Ukraine's southern port city of Chornomorsk. Witnesses described harrowing scenes, hearing the sound of drones growing louder before a large explosion.

Impact on Daily Life and Infrastructure

Inna Vysodka's apartment in Kyiv was left in ruins, and she expressed that it is a tragedy for Ukraine and the world that Russia's attacks cannot be stopped.

Energy Infrastructure Targeting and Power Cuts: Inna Sovsun highlighted that Russian attacks specifically target energy infrastructure, leading to significant power cuts experienced in Kyiv in early November. She described a reality of intermittent electricity supply, with power outages lasting for hours. Even those not directly hit by drones feel the consequences of these attacks due to the resulting power cuts.

Ukrainian Counteroffensive Strategies

Frontline Situation: Sovsun acknowledged that on the frontline, Russians are progressing in the area of Bakhmut with massive force, weapons, and personnel, and Ukrainian soldiers are struggling to hold back the pressure.

Long-Range Attacks on Russian Infrastructure: Ukrainian forces are employing long-range attacks on Russian infrastructure, including companies producing drones and oil refineries, to undermine Russia's ability to attack Ukraine. However, Sovsun noted that this is "not enough" given Ukraine's current capacity.

Reliance on Western Support: Ukraine hopes that Western sanctions will strengthen Russia's economic capacity to attack, emphasizing the need for financial limitations on Russia. Sovsun stated, "we very much hope that this Russia's capacity to attack economic capacity to begin with that it will actually be you know strengthened by by western sanctions that is what we need very much so to make sure that Russia has no money to attack Ukrainians because unfortunately we can't stop that by ourselves."

Ukrainian-Made Weapons: The majority of Ukrainian counterattacks utilize domestically produced weapons, primarily drones. However, Sovsun pointed out that drones have limited capacity to destroy large infrastructure sites, and while efforts are being made to improve missile capabilities, it is "not nearly enough." Ukraine is able to use some Western weapons, but it is still insufficient to match Russia's military force.

Russian Tactics and Propaganda

Constantin Iftinca, DW Russia Analyst: Iftinca stated that Moscow's claim of not targeting civilians is a lie, a tactic designed for domestic audiences. He explained that Russian propagandists know these images reach the world but aim to appease the Russian public by portraying the war as a "just war" targeting only legitimate military installations. He believes this propaganda is effective, with many Russians believing Russia is conducting a precise war.

Overwhelming Air Defenses: Iftinca suggested that Russia's strategy of launching waves of drones and missiles simultaneously is intended to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses, which have received additional supplies from the West. He speculated this might be a response to Ukrainian intelligence reports of significant Russian drone storage sites being destroyed in occupied eastern Ukraine during August and September.

Targeting Russian Oil Exports

Shift in Ukrainian Strategy: Iftinca noted an interesting development in Ukraine's targeting strategy. Previously, attacks focused on power plants and oil processing sites. More recently, Ukraine has aimed to hamper Russian oil exports.

Strike on Novorossiysk Oil Terminal: Approximately 36 to 48 hours prior to the discussion, a massive strike targeted Russia's second-largest oil export terminal in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, inflicting significant damage. Ukraine is increasingly using its domestically produced Neptune and Flamingo cruise missiles to target sites directly linked to Russia's oil exports, which are considered a primary source of funding for the war.

Conclusion

The transcript details the devastating impact of Russian aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities, particularly Kyiv, highlighting the targeting of civilian infrastructure and residential areas, leading to casualties and widespread power outages. It also outlines Ukraine's retaliatory measures, including strikes on Russian energy facilities and production sites, and underscores Ukraine's reliance on Western support and domestically produced weaponry to counter Russia's military might. The discussion also touches upon Russia's propaganda efforts to shape domestic perception of the conflict.