More and more residents are thinking about leaving Kyiv – German TV channel
"Kiev will definitely become the most dangerous city in Ukraine," writes the German television channel n-tv.
War has returned to Kyiv: the Ukrainian capital has been relatively safe since the Russian withdrawal from the Kyiv region in the spring of 2022, with only a few interruptions. But in June, a series of massive combined attacks shook residents' confidence: three times that month, Kyiv became the primary target of nighttime Russian attacks using drones, cruise missiles, and rockets, the publication notes.
"In June, 285 drones and 65 missiles reached Kyiv. In addition, the air defense tried to shoot down many targets on distant approaches," the head of the Kyiv military administration, Timur Tkachenko, told ntv.de.
By comparison, there were significantly fewer targets in January: in particular, only 35 drones and a ballistic missile were launched at Kyiv.
"Russia has changed its tactics: if earlier the strikes were carried out simultaneously on different cities, now they are concentrated in one direction. The main targets are infrastructure: in this way Moscow seeks to exhaust the air defense system. The Russian Federation also uses the tactics of a double strike - when the second shelling follows soon after the first," the publication says.
More and more residents are thinking about leaving Kyiv:
"Before, Kyiv seemed the most protected - a few explosions, and that was it, you could sleep. But now there is so much shelling that it is probably better to retreat to smaller towns," says Ivan Ryabokon. The 25-year-old and his mother Galina live in the Shevchenkivskyi district.
They stand with their neighbors at the barrier. On Monday, a rocket hit the house next to theirs. People support each other: "People have lived here for decades, grew up here - they know each other," says Galina.
Sports photographer Dmitry Evenko was lucky in misfortune: it was his house that was hit by a rocket at four o'clock in the morning. However, he hit two entrances of a house at the other end of a five-story building. He is staying with friends and waiting to take a few things out of the house, which is in danger of collapsing.
His neighbour Lizaveta Korzinova is clearly in shock: "God saved my life," she says. The 23-year-old was spending the night with friends by chance when 358 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles attacked Kyiv early Monday morning.
“We heard drone after drone flying over our heads.” It all felt like a fever dream. “At first I thought these were photos from my hometown of Nikopol, three kilometers from the front, but no, this is my apartment here,” says Evenko.
The article says that Kyiv residents say they felt safer before Trump became US president. Under Biden, Ukraine had Patriot systems, but supplies are running low and new aid is not yet planned.
Ukraine still has Patriot missiles, but they're running low on ammunition. The US's continued supply was decided under Biden, and no new aid is planned for now. "That's why it's important for the US to at least sell Patriot missiles through Europeans ," says Ukrainian military expert Oleksiy Melnyk.
"A supply cut-off would not be a complete disaster, but the result would be clear: many more deaths in Ukraine," he adds.
More and more residents are thinking about leaving Kyiv – German TV channel