Russia launched another massive strike earlier this morning with 7 missiles and 169 drones against Kyiv, once again "mocking" Ukrainian air defense, as the Ukrainians admitted yet again that they failed to intercept any of the 5 Russian Iskander and S-400 missiles. A few 24-hour periods after the sweeping assault involving 68 missiles and 351 drones—during which Ukrainians also conceded they could not down a single Zircon, Iskander, or S-400—the Russians attacked Kyiv anew, targeting, among other things, the "invulnerable" Samsung factory where Ukrainian Flamingo missiles are manufactured. The latest information points out that the factory was struck by Iskander missiles and was reduced to ash.
What the Russians say
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian armed forces carried out a massive overnight strike with Iskander missiles against military and industrial targets in Kyiv. According to Moscow, the operation was a retaliation for what it characterizes as "terrorist attacks" by the Ukrainian regime against civilian infrastructure in Russia. The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that one of the main objectives was an industrial facility belonging to the company "Samsung-Ukraine", where it alleges components for the FP-5 Flamingo surface-to-surface missiles were being manufactured and stored. The same announcement also notes that a medium- and long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assembly unit was hit.
Ukrainian admission: Russians attacked with 5 Iskander and S-400, we downed none
The Air Force of Ukraine announced that Russia launched a total of seven missiles during the night and that not a single one was intercepted. According to the same announcement, these consisted of five Iskander and S-400 ballistic missiles, as well as two Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles, which were fired from the Black Sea region and, according to the Ukrainian side, missed their targets. Concurrently, Ukrainian air defense announced it shot down 139 out of the total 169 drones launched by Russia. According to the Air Force of Ukraine, ballistic missiles struck four separate locations, while drone attacks were recorded at eleven spots.
"Kyiv considered the factory invulnerable"
It is reported that Ukrainian authorities considered this specific factory safe from Russian strikes and that since the start of the war, they publicly showcased the restarting of industrial units in the capital, concealing neither their activity nor their location. Russia was gathering intelligence on these particular installations and has now proceeded with its attack.
Iskanders hit sensitive targets
The coordinator of the pro-Russian network in the Mykolaiv region, Sergey Lebedev, stated that the Iskander-M missiles struck "old but highly sensitive targets" in Kyiv. According to him, two strikes were recorded in the area of a factory in the city of Vyshneve, southwest of Kyiv. As he claimed, this is a facility that had sustained a Russian attack in the past, triggering powerful secondary explosions.
Strike at the CHP-5 thermoelectric power station as well
Sergey Lebedev estimated that the new attack aimed to ascertain whether Ukrainian authorities had restored the facility's operations or reinstated industrial and storage activities. At the same time, he mentioned that a strike occurred in the area of the CHP-5 thermoelectric power station, in the south and southeast of Kyiv. According to the same claims, such facilities are linked not only to power generation but also to military industrial activities, repair centers, communication infrastructure, transport networks, storage areas, and the operation of Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense.
The strategy
Sergey Lebedev further argued that Kyiv has now evolved into a major military and industrial hub, where the defense industry, energy infrastructure, air defense, supply chain, repair facilities, and Western technology operate as a unified system. According to him, the latest attacks are a continuation of the Russian strategy aimed at destroying infrastructure that Ukraine attempts to restore, conceal, and return to service following previous strikes.
Over 10 explosions
Information indicates that more than ten loud blasts were heard within a span of roughly half an hour in Kyiv, while residents reported power outages in several areas of the city. As they claimed, the explosions occurred even before the air raid siren was activated. Concurrently, there were reports of a strike at the Vizar factory, which is utilized for the production and storage of missile systems. It is also alleged that a storage facility for ammunition and military equipment, including American M1 Abrams tanks, was destroyed. These specific claims have not been confirmed by independent sources. Nonetheless, the Ukrainian military announced that not one of the ballistic missiles used in the attack was intercepted.
Vitali Klitschko: Kyiv's defense plan has not yet been approved
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, requested an immediate convening of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC). As he stated, it is necessary to jointly examine measures with the government to implement the comprehensive resilience plan for the Ukrainian capital. From his remarks, it emerges that Kyiv's defense plan has not yet been approved. Vitali Klitschko had also spoken in previous days about the largest Russian attack the Ukrainian capital has sustained to date. Responding to his statements, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova argued that "even the mayor of Kyiv realized the scale of the Russian retaliatory strike." Zelensky had warned Vitali Klitschko that he would be held accountable if the capital's preparation ahead of the coming winter failed, emphasizing that municipal authorities must draw up contingency plans for potential attacks in a timely manner rather than acting at the last minute.
Extensive fires, one dead woman
According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES), fires broke out in an administrative building, warehouses, and a garage complex in the Sviatoshynskyi district. Concurrently, another administrative building and a city tram sustained damage. The municipal authority of Kyiv announced that during the attack, 42 trams were damaged at one of the city's depots. In the Desnianskyi district, a fire also manifested in storage areas due to the attack. The head of the military administration of Kyiv, Timur Tkachenko, stated that one woman lost her life in the overnight strike, while two more people were injured. Ukrainian channels on Telegram reported that a large fire in the center of the capital continued to burn for several hours.
Strikes in other regions of Ukraine as well
During the night, attacks were reported in other areas of Ukraine too. The Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda broadcasted that at least three missile strikes occurred in the Nemyshlianskyi and Osnovianskyi districts of Kharkiv. In the community of Zinkiv, within the Poltava region, local authorities announced problems with electricity and water supply following damage to a critical infrastructure facility. Residents were called upon to store water, as the water supply will temporarily operate on a schedule. Concurrently, attacks were reported in the city of Snovsk, in the Chernihiv region, where, according to the Telegram channel Novyny Chernihivshchyny, twelve strikes were recorded on transport infrastructure facilities and other targets. Finally, the Ukrainian network TSN broadcasted that drones were detected in the morning hours in the Odesa region. According to the report, the drones were moving over the Black Sea heading toward Odesa and the Biliary area.
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