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Tag: Air defense

  • Large Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv kills 4 and wounds at least 10

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    Russia unleashed a barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine overnight into Sunday, killing at least four people, with the capital city of Kyiv suffering the heaviest assault.This is the first major bombardment since an air attack on Kyiv left at least 21 people dead last month.Kyiv bears the brunt of the attackTymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration, confirmed Sunday’s casualties via Telegram and said 10 others were wounded in the attack that targeted civilian areas across the city. A 12-year-old girl was among the dead. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from a blast near the city center.“The Russians have restarted the child death counter,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.Russia fired a total of 595 exploding drones and decoys and 48 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday. Of those, air defenses shot down or jammed 566 drones and 45 missiles.Besides Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the bombardment targeted the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa. Zelenskyy wrote on X that at least 40 people were wounded across the country. Later, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry stated the number of the wounded rose to 70, with over a hundred civilian objects damaged.Zaporizhzhia’s regional head, Ivan Fedorov, said three children were among the 27 wounded in the region, adding that over two dozen buildings were damaged in the capital that bears the same name.“This vile attack came virtually (at) the close of UN General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position. Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world,” Zelenskyy wrote.Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted to world leaders Saturday that his nation doesn’t intend to attack Europe but will mount a “decisive response” to any aggression.Residents shakenThe strikes that began overnight and continued after dawn on Sunday also targeted residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, a medical facility and a kindergarten, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who also said damage was reported at more than 20 locations across the capital.At Kyiv’s central train station, passengers arrived to the crackle of anti-aircraft gunfire and the low buzz of attack drones. Mostly women, they waited quietly in a platform underpass until the air raid alert ended. Parents checked the news on their phones while children played online games.“The sky has turned black again,” said one woman at the station, who gave only her first name, Erika. “It’s happening a lot.”Ilona Kovalenko, a 38-year-old resident of a five-story building struck in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, told The Associated Press she woke up because of the explosion, which shattered windows.“A neighbor kept knocking on our door. She was completely covered in blood and shouting, ‘help, save my daughter,’” said Kovalenko, who fled the building with her grandmother after the strike.Oleksandra, the neighbor’s daughter, was the 12-year-old killed in the attack.“Sadly, she died on the spot,” Kovalenko said. “We are in shock, to be honest.”Another multi-story residential building was heavily damaged by the attack. Emergency services personnel used power saws to clear the debris. Piles of glass littered nearby sidewalks as building residents, some looking shaken, sat on benches.Russian officials did not immediately comment on the attacks.Polish military responses triggeredThe assault also triggered military responses in neighboring Poland, where fighter jets were deployed early Sunday morning as Russia struck targets in western Ukraine, according to the Polish armed forces.Polish military officials characterized these defensive measures as “preventative.”International concerns have mounted recently that the fighting could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders as European countries rebuked Russia for what they said were provocations. The incidents have included Russian drones landing on Polish soil and Russian fighter aircraft entering Estonian airspace.Russia denied its planes entered Estonian airspace and said none of its drones targeted Poland.The latest bombardment follows President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s announcement Saturday of what he called a “mega deal” for weapons purchases from the United States. The $90 billion package includes both the major arms agreement and a separate “drone deal” for Ukrainian-made drones that the U.S. will purchase directly.Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday. Morton reported from London.

    KYIV —

    Russia unleashed a barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine overnight into Sunday, killing at least four people, with the capital city of Kyiv suffering the heaviest assault.

    This is the first major bombardment since an air attack on Kyiv left at least 21 people dead last month.

    Kyiv bears the brunt of the attack

    Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration, confirmed Sunday’s casualties via Telegram and said 10 others were wounded in the attack that targeted civilian areas across the city. A 12-year-old girl was among the dead. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from a blast near the city center.

    “The Russians have restarted the child death counter,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.

    Russia fired a total of 595 exploding drones and decoys and 48 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday. Of those, air defenses shot down or jammed 566 drones and 45 missiles.

    Besides Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the bombardment targeted the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa. Zelenskyy wrote on X that at least 40 people were wounded across the country. Later, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry stated the number of the wounded rose to 70, with over a hundred civilian objects damaged.

    Zaporizhzhia’s regional head, Ivan Fedorov, said three children were among the 27 wounded in the region, adding that over two dozen buildings were damaged in the capital that bears the same name.

    “This vile attack came virtually (at) the close of UN General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position. Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world,” Zelenskyy wrote.

    Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted to world leaders Saturday that his nation doesn’t intend to attack Europe but will mount a “decisive response” to any aggression.

    Residents shaken

    The strikes that began overnight and continued after dawn on Sunday also targeted residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, a medical facility and a kindergarten, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who also said damage was reported at more than 20 locations across the capital.

    At Kyiv’s central train station, passengers arrived to the crackle of anti-aircraft gunfire and the low buzz of attack drones. Mostly women, they waited quietly in a platform underpass until the air raid alert ended. Parents checked the news on their phones while children played online games.

    “The sky has turned black again,” said one woman at the station, who gave only her first name, Erika. “It’s happening a lot.”

    Ilona Kovalenko, a 38-year-old resident of a five-story building struck in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, told The Associated Press she woke up because of the explosion, which shattered windows.

    “A neighbor kept knocking on our door. She was completely covered in blood and shouting, ‘help, save my daughter,’” said Kovalenko, who fled the building with her grandmother after the strike.

    Oleksandra, the neighbor’s daughter, was the 12-year-old killed in the attack.

    “Sadly, she died on the spot,” Kovalenko said. “We are in shock, to be honest.”

    Another multi-story residential building was heavily damaged by the attack. Emergency services personnel used power saws to clear the debris. Piles of glass littered nearby sidewalks as building residents, some looking shaken, sat on benches.

    Russian officials did not immediately comment on the attacks.

    Polish military responses triggered

    The assault also triggered military responses in neighboring Poland, where fighter jets were deployed early Sunday morning as Russia struck targets in western Ukraine, according to the Polish armed forces.

    Polish military officials characterized these defensive measures as “preventative.”

    International concerns have mounted recently that the fighting could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders as European countries rebuked Russia for what they said were provocations. The incidents have included Russian drones landing on Polish soil and Russian fighter aircraft entering Estonian airspace.

    Russia denied its planes entered Estonian airspace and said none of its drones targeted Poland.

    The latest bombardment follows President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s announcement Saturday of what he called a “mega deal” for weapons purchases from the United States. The $90 billion package includes both the major arms agreement and a separate “drone deal” for Ukrainian-made drones that the U.S. will purchase directly.

    Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday.

    Morton reported from London.


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  • Ukraine vows more self-reliance as war enters third year

    Ukraine vows more self-reliance as war enters third year

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    Ukrainians have questions

    On the anniversary of Putin’s aggression, however, uncertainty and irritation were undisguised in Kyiv. Ukrainians wanted to know why Western sanctions on Russia are not working, and why Moscow keeps getting components for its missiles from Western companies. Why Ukrainians have to keep asking for weapons; and why the U.S. is not pushing through the crucial new aid package for Ukraine.

    “We are very grateful for the support of the United States, but unfortunately, when I turn to the Democrats for support, they tell me to go to the Republicans. And the Republicans say to go to the Democrats,” Ukrainian MP Oleksandra Ustinova said at a separate Kyiv conference on Saturday. “We are grateful for the European support, but we cannot win without the USA. We need the supply of anti-aircraft defenses and continued assistance.”

    “Why don’t you give us what we ask for? Our priorities are air defense and missiles. We need long-range missiles,” Ustinova added. 

    U.S. Congressman Jim Costa explained to the conference that Americans, and even members of Congress, still need to be educated on how the war in Ukraine affects them and why a Ukrainian victory is in America’s best interests.

    “I believe that we must, and that is why we will decide on an additional aid package for Ukraine. It is difficult and unattractive. But I believe that over the next few weeks, the US response will be a beacon to protect our security and democratic values,” Costa said.

    The West is afraid of Russia, Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s security and defense council secretary, told the Saturday conference.

     “The West does not know what to do with Russia and therefore it does not allow us to win. Russians constantly blackmail and intimidate the West. However, if you are afraid of a dog, it will bite you,” he said.

    “And now you are losing not only to autocratic Russia but also to the rest of the autocracies in the world,” Danilov added.

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    Veronika Melkozerova

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  • Ukraine’s war strategy: Survive 2024 to win in 2025

    Ukraine’s war strategy: Survive 2024 to win in 2025

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    This year will be one of “recovery and preparation on both sides, like 1916 and 1941-42 in the last world wars,” said Marc Thys, who retired as Belgium’s deputy defense chief last year with the rank of lieutenant general. 

    Looking ahead

    To assess prospects for the year ahead, POLITICO asked analysts, serving officers and military experts to give their view on the course of the war.

    Nobody could provide a precise roadmap for 2024, but all agreed that three fundamentals will determine the trajectory of the coming months. First, this spring is about managing expectations as Ukraine won’t have the gear or the personnel to launch a significant counteroffensive; second, Russia, with the help of its allies, has secured artillery superiority and, together with relentless ground attacks, is pounding Ukrainian positions; and third, without Western air defense and long-range missiles as well as artillery shells, Kyiv will struggle to mount a credible, sustained defense.

    “The year will be difficult, no one can predict from which direction Russia will go or whether we will advance this year,” said Taras Chmut, a Ukrainian military analyst and sergeant with the Naval Forces Marine Corps Reserve.

    It’s clear, however, that Ukraine is on the back foot.

    After many weeks of bloody fighting, Russia finally took the fortress city of Avdiivka this month. Without pausing for a breather, its military proceeded to launch attacks on other key Ukrainian strongpoints and logistical hubs: Robotyne in the region of Zaporizhzia, Kupiansk in Kharkiv, and Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region. 

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    Joshua Posaner, Veronika Melkozerova, Stuart Lau, Paul McLeary and Henry Donovan

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  • Zelenskyy offers Trump a tour of Ukraine’s front line

    Zelenskyy offers Trump a tour of Ukraine’s front line

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    “This is Russia’s war against any rules at all,” Zelenskyy said, to applause from the auditorium, adding:” If you do not manage to act now, Putin will make the next years catastrophic for other countries as well.”

    Zelenskyy’s appearance in Munich is part on an ongoing campaign to strengthen Kyiv’s ties with its Western allies. Before coming to Munich, he was in Berlin and Paris to sign security agreements, adding to a similar pact with the United Kingdom.

    Although Russia has more ammunition, the war is also causing problems, forcing it to plead for help from ramshackle dictatorships. “For the first time in Russian history, Russia bowed to Iran and North Korea for help,” said Zelenskyy.

    Despite problems like ammunition shortages and retreats from cities like Avdiivka, Zelenskyy insisted that Ukraine can prevail in the war against Russia, especially if its allies give it more arms and ammunition.

    “We can get our land back, and Putin can lose,” he said, adding: “We should not be afraid of Putin‘s defeat and the destruction of his regime. It is his fate to lose — not the fate of the rules-based order to vanish.”

    Antoaneta Roussi contributed reporting.

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    Joshua Posaner

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  • Macron: ‘Whatever America decides,’ Europe must back Ukraine

    Macron: ‘Whatever America decides,’ Europe must back Ukraine

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    Macron’s comments come as European nations grapple with the looming consequences of Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House, with the NATO-skeptic ex-president on track to win the Republican nomination. In the U.S., further military aid for Ukraine is also stalled in Congress, with Republican lawmakers reluctant to continue funding Kyiv. Ukraine has been fending off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion for almost two years now.

    “This is a decisive and testing moment for Europe. We must be ready to act to defend and support Ukraine whatever it takes and whatever America decides,” Macron said during a speech at Sweden’s Military Academy Karlberg.

    Ahead of a key European summit this week focused on Ukraine, Macron also said the EU will have “to accelerate the scale” of its support, given that the costs “of a Russian victory are too high for all of us.”

    EU leaders are hoping to agree on a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine at a European Council summit this Thursday, but fears are growing that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will use his veto to block the funds for Kyiv.

    Macron is currently on a two-day visit to Sweden to discuss partnerships in areas from energy to defense. French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his Swedish counterpart Pål Jonson are expected to sign letters of intent on air defense and air surveillance systems.

    France and Sweden are among the very few European countries with a wide-ranging defense industry that can also manufacture their own fighter jets — France’s Rafale by Dassault Aviation, and Sweden’s JAS 39 Gripen made by Saab.

    “We both have a very strong model in terms of production,” Macron told the audience, listing equipment, weapons, missiles and ammunition. Cyber and space, he added, are “clearly two areas of conflictuality for the future where there’s a lot to do together.”

    The partnership between the French and Belgian armies — dubbed CaMo — is a model that could be replicated between France and Sweden, Macron added.



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    Clea Caulcutt and Laura Kayali

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  • Russia launches New Year’s Eve strikes against Ukraine

    Russia launches New Year’s Eve strikes against Ukraine

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    Russia fired off a fresh barrage of strikes at Ukraine on New Year’s Eve, launching nearly 100 Shahed loitering munitions against cities across the country. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said their air defense forces had shot down 87 of the Iranian-made drones.

    A 15-year-old boy was killed and seven people were wounded after debris from one of the drones that was downed hit a residential building in Odesa, the head of the regional administration said according to the Associated Press.

    The latest holiday launch came on the heels of an air attack on Friday, during which the Ukrainian Air Force brought down 114 of 158 projectiles fired by Russia. Kyiv said Friday’s bombardment, the biggest of the war, had killed at least 45 people.

    National unity took center stage during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s New Year address to the nation, though the president only referenced the war obliquely. He praised Russian troops — but did not mention Ukraine by name, nor did he make direct reference to the so-called special military operation, Kremlin-speak for the war in Ukraine.

    “What united us and unites us is the fate of the Fatherland, a deep understanding of the highest significance of the historical stage through which Russia is passing,” Putin said to the nation. Putin said Russia would never retreat and there was no force that could divide Russians and stop the country’s development, the AP reported citing state media.

    On Saturday, Ukrainian strikes against Belgorod, a Russian city approximately 35 kilometers from the border, killed at least two dozen and wounded more than 100, according to regional Russian authorities — but the attack did not feature in Putin’s four-minute video message.

    In his midnight address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked 676 days of war by commending the resilience of Ukraine’s citizens and soldiers and highlighting Ukraine’s invitation to join the European Union.

    “We do not know for certain what the new year will bring us,” Zelenskyy said, with Ukraine’s counteroffensive largely stalled and the increasing likelihood of stalemate across the front. “But this year we can add: whatever it brings, we will be stronger.”

    This story has been updated.

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    Caleb Larson

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  • ‘Seething’ Putin hammers Ukraine with massive missile and drone attacks

    ‘Seething’ Putin hammers Ukraine with massive missile and drone attacks

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    Russia battered Kyiv and Kharkiv with missiles and drones overnight, killing at least four people and injuring 92 more, after President Vladimir Putin said he was “seething” and would “intensify attacks” on Ukraine.

    Moscow hit the capital with a combination of Iranian-made Shahed drones and “waves” of missiles for almost six hours, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration.

    “As a result of such a massive missile attack in the capital, unfortunately, there is destruction of residential buildings, damage to infrastructure. There are victims,” said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration.

    “Since December 31st, Russian monsters have already fired 170 ‘Shahed’ drones and dozens of missiles of various types” at Ukraine, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on social media. “The absolute majority of them targeted civilian infrastructure. I am grateful to all of our partners who are helping us strengthen our air shield.”

    Putin said on Monday that he was “seething” at strikes on the Russian city of Belgorod over the weekend that the Kremlin blamed on Kyiv, and vowed to “intensify strikes” on Ukraine.

    “They want to a) intimidate us and b) create instability in our country,” Putin said during a New Year’s Day visit to a military hospital, according to the Kremlin’s readout of the president’s comments. “We will intensify the strikes,” he added, saying that “no crime — and this [the attack on Belgorod] is certainly a crime against the civilian population — will go unpunished.”

    Russia blames Kyiv for the air attack on Belgorod, which killed at least 25 people and wounded more than 100, according to the Kremlin.

    Since Saturday, Moscow has hit Ukraine with nonstop drone and missile assaults.

    Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one woman from Kyiv’s Solom’yans’kyi district died and dozens more were injured.

    In Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv, strikes killed at least one person and damaged civilian infrastructure.

    The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said its air defenses had shot down all 35 of the Iranian-made drones Russia launched against several cities on Tuesday. But debris from the missiles hit several civilian facilities across the area, damaging gas pipelines and cutting off water and electricity in some areas, Klitschko said.

    “It’s probably the biggest attack on Kyiv & [Ukraine] as a whole since the start of full-scale invasion. Urgent action in providing additional air defense capabilities needed,” said Ukrainian MP Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze in a post on social media.

    This story is being updated.

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    Claudia Chiappa

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  • Russia barrages Ukraine with record number of drones in overnight attack

    Russia barrages Ukraine with record number of drones in overnight attack

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    KYIV — In the largest aerial attack since its invasion started, Russia barraged Ukraine with 75 Shahed drones overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.

    Most of the drones were aimed at Kyiv and the region around the capital, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement.

    Ukrainian forces managed to shoot down all but one of the Shahed kamikaze drones, as well as an X-59 cruise missile over the Dnipro region, the Ukrainian air force said.

    The assault included the highest number of Russian drones to be deployed in one night since Moscow launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

    The air attack lasted more than six hours, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said in a statement. Anti-aircraft missiles, tactical aviation, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units were involved in repelling the air attack.

    No deaths were reported as a result of the barrage, but falling debris damaged buildings. In Kyiv, a fire broke out at a kindergarten, while windows were damaged in neighboring houses. Debris damaged the second floor of a five-story building, where two women had to be evacuated, Klitschko said.

    Five people were injured in total, the mayor said.

    As a result of the attack, more than 12,000 households in the capital were temporarily cut off from electricity, Ukraine’s state energy operator Ukrenergo said. Power cuts were also reported in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Cherkasy and Sumy regions.

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    Veronika Melkozerova

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  • Western air defenses turn Kyiv into a rare safe spot in war-torn Ukraine

    Western air defenses turn Kyiv into a rare safe spot in war-torn Ukraine

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    Voiced by artificial intelligence.

    KYIV — Inna Kozich, a communications specialist from Kyiv, still cries when she remembers the first weeks of last year’s Russian siege of the Ukrainian capital.

    “At one moment my kids and I slept in a corridor for three weeks. I was going to bed, not sure if we all wake up the next day,” Kozich remembers.

    But the air defenses now protecting the capital make her feel safer in Kyiv than anywhere else in Ukraine — so much so that she’s afraid of venturing beyond the city.

    “I was even afraid to take my kids for a summer vacation because I knew other regions unfortunately do not have as strong air defense as we now do. And I feel so much pain for Ukrainians from other regions, who are still forced to live under daily Russian bombardment,” Kozich said.

    When the full-scale Russian invasion launched on February 24, 2022, a desperate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the West to close Ukraine’s skies to Russian aviation and missiles. That didn’t happen, but Ukraine’s allies have steadily sent some of their best air defense systems to help protect the country’s cities, and especially Kyiv.

    When the war broke out, Kyiv relied on Soviet-era S-300 and Buk M1 medium-range anti-missile systems — a problem as replacement missiles are largely made by Russia.

    Those defenses have now been beefed up by short-range Gepard systems from Germany and Avenger Short-Range Air Defense from the U.S. to knock down drones and cruise missiles. At medium range, Ukraine is using MIM-23 Hawks from the U.S. made by Raytheon; NASAMS, developed by Raytheon and Norway’s Kongsberg; and Germany’s IRIS-T SLM. Long-range defenses are provided by the U.S. Patriot PAC-3 and the Eurosam SAMP/T supplied by France and Italy.

    Ukrainian air defense troops have shown they are capable of integrating modern systems with Soviet ones, Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, told POLITICO.

    “We continue to expect support from allies and partners. We need more air defense. Diverse. And not only for the capital but also for every Ukrainian city. Each anti-aircraft missile complex is worth its weight in gold,” Popko said.

    After Russia first put the Patriots to the test, unsuccessfully attacking the capital for more than 20 days in May, Kyivans felt relatively safe for the first time.

    “We were waiting for those Patriots like manna from heaven,” Kozich said. “It was such a relief.”

    Soon, people from other regions, where air defense is not as strong, started moving to Kyiv and the surrounding region, even though it is still frequently attacked. This weekend Russia sent waves of drones against Kyiv, most of which were shot down.

    Ukrainian air defense troops have shown they are capable of integrating modern systems with Soviet ones | Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

    “Your accuracy, guys, is literally life for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a weekend public address. “As winter approaches, there will be more Russian attempts to make the strikes more powerful. It is crucial for all of us in Ukraine to be one hundred percent effective.”

    Safe haven

    Ukraine’s cities have become lifeboats for people fleeing Russian attacks. Kyiv and the surrounding region now host almost 600,000 displaced people from other parts of Ukraine, the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration estimated in September. Other large cities are also seeing influxes of internal refugees, with about half a million now sheltering each in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions.

    “The first active phase of internal migration began immediately after the liberation of the Kyiv region. People from cities where active hostilities were taking place were coming at that time. Then, when Patriot arrived, people from Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia began to actively move and look for housing in Kyiv, explaining this by the fact that Kyiv is protected and fewer missiles are flying here than in their cities,” said Oleksandr Zhytiuk, a local realtor.  

    “Ukrainians from abroad also started to return after this May, when Russians were shelling us almost daily, proving the effectiveness of air defense. Today people believe it is calmer in Kyiv,” he added.

    That’s led to a jump in local real estate prices from a collapse in the early months of the war.

    Before the full-scale invasion, about 3.9 million people lived in the Ukrainian capital. By the spring of 2022, however, 1.9 million had fled, said Denys Sudilkovsky, brand and business director of LUN, an online real estate platform. Most are now back.

    “Back then it was not uncommon to find offers to rent apartments in Kyiv for the cost of utilities,” Sudilkovsky said.

    Rental prices had almost returned to pre-invasion levels by the fall of 2022, according to LUN data.

    “The return of people slowed down when Russians started shelling energy infrastructure. However, the winter of 2022-2023 showed Kyiv is capable of protecting its skies with modern Western air defense systems, and already from the spring of 2023, we began to observe a further increase in demand for long-term rental housing in Kyiv,” Sudilkovsky said.

    Still a war zone

    But the capital isn’t entirely safe — as this weekend’s attacks showed. Air raid sirens still howl almost daily, and Ukrainian officials urge people to remain cautious, Popko said.

    “With the additional air defense systems, the level of protection of the capital from air attacks has become better. But I never get tired of repeating that the best defense is to go to the shelter during an air alert. Bitter experience proves that even shot-down missiles carry a deadly threat due to numerous debris,” he said.

    While people in Kyiv do feel safer, those in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions are still suffering from daily bombardments. Russians are hitting Odesa and its strategic port, as well as the regions of Kherson, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.

    “I still remember the sound I heard when our Patriot shot down the first [Russian hypersonic] Kinzhal missile this summer. After that I know whatever Russians shoot at us, our air defense will shoot it down. However, other cities still cannot allow the luxury of feeling like I do,” Kozich said, adding she is still afraid to leave the city to go to her country house.

    The Ukrainian government has been urging its allies to provide more air defenses to cover other cities.  

    “The more protected the Ukrainian skies, Ukrainian cities, and villages are, the more opportunities our people will have for economic activity, for production, among other things, [for] defense industries, ” Zelenskyy said in a video statement.

    The Ukraine president also said Kyiv wants to co-produce weapons with its partners, and expects its allies to send more air defense systems by the end of the year to fend off Russia’s anticipated winter attacks on energy infrastructure.

    “Russians are insidious, and intimidation of civilians with missile terror is one of their strategies. They will never give up shelling civilians and infrastructure. Therefore, we must be sure we have something to protect our people,” Kozich said.

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    Veronika Melkozerova

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  • Ukraine says Israel-Hamas war shows West must ramp up arms production

    Ukraine says Israel-Hamas war shows West must ramp up arms production

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    BERLIN — Facing war on two fronts — in Ukraine and in the Middle East — Kyiv is calling on Western democracies to ramp up investment in weapons, saying that arms factory output worldwide is falling miles short of what is needed.

    In an interview, Ukraine’s Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin told POLITICO Western countries needed to accelerate production of missiles, shells and military drones as close to frontlines as possible.

    “The free world should be producing enough to protect itself,” Kamyshin said, on a mission to the German capital to persuade arms producers to invest in war-ravaged Ukraine. “That’s why we have to produce more and better weapons to stay safe.”

    Current factory capacity was woeful, he argued. “If you get together all the worldwide capacities for weapons production, for ammunition production, that will be not enough for this war,” said Kamyshin of the state of play along Ukraine’s more than 1,000 kilometers of active frontline.

    As the Israel Defense Forces continue to pummel Gaza and fighting gathers pace along the contact line in Ukraine, armies are burning through ammunition at a rate not seen in decades. Policymakers are asking whether Western allies can support both countries with air defense systems and artillery at once.

    The answer, says Kamyshin, is to start building out production facilities now. “What happens in Israel now shows and proves that the defense industry globally is a destination for investments for decades,” he said.

    Since Russia’s war on Ukraine started in February 2022, western governments have been funneling arms to Kyiv. That includes hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, armored vehicles and other equipment.

    But as the grind of war continues, Kyiv has changed tack — appointing Kamyshin, the former boss of Ukraine’s state railway — to the post of minister for strategic industries. Ukraine, formerly a major military hub in the Soviet Union, is now trying to increase output of armored vehicles, ammunition and air defense systems, he said, and wants Western partners to invest.

    A key step is expected on Tuesday, when German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will announce a new joint venture between Rheinmetall and Ukroboronprom, a Ukrainian defense company, Kamyshin said.

    In late September, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office gave the green light to the cooperation agreement after a review that found the proposed venture “does not result in any overlaps in terms of competition in Germany.”

    Building local

    Last March, EU countries pledged to send a million artillery rounds to Ukraine over the following year as part of a program to lift production. Ukraine may need as much as 1.5 million shells annually to sustain its war effort, a daunting task that Kamyshin hopes he can help, at least partially, with domestic output.

    In total, Ukraine has received over 350 self-propelled and towed artillery systems from NATO countries and Australia. Combined with Soviet-era pieces in Ukrainian stocks prior to the Russian invasion, Kyiv has approximately 1,600 pieces of artillery in service — but must cover a massive front.

    Ukraine has received over 350 self-propelled and towed artillery systems from NATO countries and Australia | Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

    And although the deepening of the German-Ukrainian defense relationship is a boon for Kyiv’s war effort, the enemy on the battlefield — Russia — can also leverage its own international relationships for war materiel, and has been quick to agree military hardware deals with the likes of Iran and North Korea.

    Earlier this month, reports pointed out Pyongyang likely transferred a sizable shipment of artillery ammunition to Russia. The details of the deal are secret, but the shipment came on the heels of a visit to Pyongyang by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in turn made a trip to Russia by rail and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    Russia previously struck a deal with Tehran for Iranian loitering munitions that hammered cities across Ukraine last winter in an intentional targeting of civilian infrastructure.

    The increasingly international scope of sourcing for the war in Ukraine is not limited to non-NATO countries. Poland recently started taking delivery of tanks, howitzers, rocket launchers and light attack aircraft from South Korea, a nod to how quickly Seoul can ramp up production affordably.

    For Kamyshin, the key was to make plans for the long term.

    “This war can be for decades,” he said. “[The] Russians can come back always.”

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  • NATO forced to do the splits over support for both Israel and Ukraine

    NATO forced to do the splits over support for both Israel and Ukraine

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    BRUSSELS — Defense ministers flying into the Belgian capital for a NATO meeting starting Wednesday were expecting to spend their time backing Ukraine — instead, they find their intel briefings full of a region mostly forgotten in the past two years: the Middle East.

    From the White House’s new military support for Israel to emergency meetings across European capitals, to a fumbled EU response to the crisis, NATO allies are grappling with a renewed sense of urgency over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas’ surprise attacks on Israel over the weekend has led to the Israeli government’s vow of total retaliation in the Gaza Strip, with a record number of 300,000 reservists already drafted within 48 hours.

    The timing is an inconvenience for the Ukrainians, who aim to galvanize further support from NATO countries in what will be the first defense ministers’ meeting following a NATO leaders’ summit in July that saw beefed-up pledges for Ukraine’s security and military support.

    Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament’s committee on foreign policy, acknowledged the “fears” among his compatriots over whether the West can stay focused on Russia’s invasion while also dealing with the ongoing Israeli-Hamas situation.

    “I can only speak for myself. Yes, there are such fears,” Merezhko told POLITICO. “But, at the same time, I think that in the end it will not be a problem, because the USA is such a powerful country in economic and military terms.”

    While Ukraine’s new Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is scheduled to get hours of attention, Israel is also expected to be discussed — at least on the sidelines.

    “I would be surprised if the situation in the Middle East isn’t mentioned at the meeting,” said a NATO diplomat granted anonymity to speak freely. A second diplomat said they expected strong interest in what U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had to say.

    The interest isn’t unusual because Israel has a longtime partnership with NATO, another diplomat pointed out, so it would only be “natural” for the alliance to be concerned about its next steps.

    Just a week before the Hamas attack, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, the chair of the NATO Military Committee, visited Israel to meet with President Isaac Herzog and military officials. Bauer also visited the Gaza border crossing, where he praised the Israeli military’s “unique expertise in underground counterterrorism activity.”

    While the line from the White House is that the United States can deal with two regional crises at the same time, domestic skeptics of helping Ukraine are already piling on.

    “Israel is facing existential threat. Any funding for Ukraine should be redirected to Israel immediately,” Josh Hawley, a Republican senator allied with former President Donald Trump, said on social media.

    Pledges for Kyiv

    U.S. officials are trying to dispel Ukrainian concerns, pointing out that the two countries have differing needs because they face very different threats.

    “On the question of whether or not U.S. support for Israel could possibly come at the expense of U.S. support for Ukraine, we don’t anticipate any major challenges in that regard,” U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told reporters on Tuesday. “I suspect the United States will be able to stay focused on our partnership and commitment to Israel’s security, while also meeting our commitments and promise to continue supporting Ukraine as it defends its territory.”

    Hamas’ surprise attacks on Israel over the weekend has led to the Israeli government’s vow of total retaliation in the Gaza Strip | Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

    “I think allies no doubt will want to talk about what happened in Israel and express their solidarity. We’ve seen all members of the alliance issue their own national statements — really in real time almost as the attack was ongoing. And I suspect that will be part of our conversation,” Smith said.

    Ukraine still remains a key focus for this week’s NATO meeting.

    It begins on Wednesday with the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a regular gathering of NATO and Ukrainian ministers to discuss what weapons to give Ukraine. It will be followed by the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting, a format that’s already in its fourth edition since it was created in July, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the NATO Summit in Lithuania.

    “I anticipate that the emphasis will be mostly on air defense and ammunition although no doubt the Ukrainians will come in with a variety of other requests,” Smith said. “It always is an organic meeting where ministers step forward and offer assistance in real time.”

    Shortly before the NATO meeting, Umerov, the Ukrainian defense minister, reached out to his Dutch counterpart, Kajsa Ollongren, on Ukraine’s “urgent needs” for air defense systems, long-range missiles and artillery. The Netherlands has also been leading on the F-16 fighter jet training for Ukraine’s pilots.

    That’s a sign that the alliance can juggle both Ukraine and Israel, Ollongren told POLITICO.

    “Splits? No. But I think of course there will also be attention and focus on Israel and how the situation is developing over there,” she said. “But I think it’s very important, it’s a good thing that we are meeting tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, to underline that the support for Ukraine is not affected.”

    CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of the Dutch defense minister’s name: it is Kajsa Ollongren.

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  • Scholz cites risk of ‘escalation’ as reason not to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine

    Scholz cites risk of ‘escalation’ as reason not to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine

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    German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sought to justify his reluctance to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles on Thursday by naming constitutional constraints and the risk of an “escalation of the war.”

    However, Scholz did announce additional military support for Kyiv in the form of another “Patriot” air defense system “for the winter months” and argued that “this is what is most needed now.”

    The chancellor has come under increased pressure from allies like the United Kingdom — but also from within his own ruling coalition — to hand over the German long-distance, high-precision Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, especially as the U.K. and France have already supplied Kyiv with their “Storm Shadow” and “Scalp” cruise missiles.

    Yet Scholz continues to rule out delivery of the Taurus “for now,” a German official told POLITICO on Wednesday, confirming a report by Bild. And when asked by reporters on Thursday why he does not want to send the cruise missiles, the chancellor argued that such a decision could only be made after “careful consideration.”

    “After all, when a war lasts so long, these considerations can’t stop at once,” Scholz said during a press conference on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Granada, Spain, adding that his government “must always take into account what the constitution requires of us and what our options for action are.”

    He added: “This includes in particular the fact that we must of course ensure that there is no escalation of the war and that Germany does not become part of the conflict. It is also my task as chancellor to ensure that.”

    Scholz did not elaborate on what potential constitutional constraints he had in mind, but Bild reported that the chancellor was concerned that for Ukraine to use the Taurus missiles, Berlin would have to deliver geo-data of Russian targets and thereby take a more active role in the war. Scholz is also reportedly worried that Ukraine might use the missiles to hit the Kerch bridge connecting occupied Crimea with Russia.

    Yet Christian Mölling, the deputy director of the German Council on Foreign Relations and a renowned security expert, argued on X, formerly Twitter, that Germany would not take an active role in the war once it hands the cruise missiles over to Ukraine, and denounced Scholz’s concerns as “smoke grenades.”

    Among the harshest critics of Scholz’s decision is Andreas Schwarz, a defense policy lawmaker from the chancellor’s Social Democratic Party: “History books will find their verdict on our politics today,” Schwarz wrote Wednesday evening on X, adding: “My opinion is and remains clear: Deliver Taurus — immediately!”

    Seemingly trying to calm down the growing criticism, Scholz repeatedly emphasized during his press conference on Thursday how “very far-reaching” but also “very effective” was his decision to supply Ukraine with another Patriot air defense system.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the delivery of the Patriot system on X, and wrote: “I’m grateful for Germany’s support in defending our freedom and people.”

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  • Ukrainian attacks force Russia to relocate Black Sea fleet

    Ukrainian attacks force Russia to relocate Black Sea fleet

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    KYIV — Ukraine has hammered Russia’s Black Sea fleet so hard that Moscow is shifting much of it away from Crimea, allowing Kyiv to reopen its ports to grain vessels despite Russia’s blockade threats.

    “As of today, Russia is dispersing its fleet, fearing more attacks on its ships. Some units are relocating to the port of Novorossiysk. They try not to visit Sevastopol so often because they don’t feel safe there anymore,” Ukrainian navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk told POLITICO.

    Ukraine unleashed a series of carefully planned attacks against the fleet and parts of its crucial infrastructure in recent weeks — destroying key air defense systems, landing commandos on Crimea, and pounding the fleet’s base in Sevastopol in an attack that heavily damaged a submarine and a missile carrier and put the fleet’s dry dock out of commission.

    The coup de grâce was a missile attack on the fleet’s headquarters in downtown Sevastopol.

    Ukrainian forces also control drilling rigs in the Black Sea as well as Zmiiniy Island — the famous island where Ukrainian forces said: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself” in the early days of the war.

    That’s made naval operations in the western part of the Black Sea perilous for Russia, allowing grain ships to dock at Ukrainian ports with much less fear of being stopped and boarded by the Russians.

    “Now ships and boats of the Black Sea fleet of the Russian Federation do not actually sail in the direction of the territorial sea of Ukraine. From time to time, they appear on the coast of Crimea, but not closer. They do not dare to go beyond the Tarkhankut Peninsula,” Natalia Humeniuk of Ukraine’s Army Operational Command South, told Ukrainian television on Wednesday, referring to the point that marks the westernmost extremity of Crimea into the Black Sea.

    Mayday mayday

    She said Russian warships had been pushed back at least 100 nautical miles from the coast controlled by Ukraine.

    That’s allowed Kyiv to restart grain exports from three Black Sea ports — reopening a route that the Kremlin had tried to throttle after pulling out of the U.N.-negotiated grain deal in July.

    An official with the Ukrainian Armed Forces Command South, who was granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the Ukrainian military counted at least 10 Russian Black Sea fleet vessels that used to be based in Crimea and have now shifted east to the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

    “They stopped being there all the time,” Pletenchuk said.

    While cargo ships are again sailing to Ukrainian ports, Humeniuk warned that the threat isn’t over.

    The Black Sea fleet has been a bone contention between Ukraine and Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union | AFP via Getty Images

    Although Russian warships have made themselves scarce, Russian planes are still flying over the sea. Russian forces frequently bomb Zmiiniy Island and attack cities and towns on the Black Sea coast of Ukraine with drones.

    There is also the danger that Russia may lay mines to block sea routes, British intelligence said on Wednesday.

    But for the moment, the situation on the Black Sea is a huge embarrassment for the Kremlin, as its second-largest naval force has been humbled by a country with almost no navy.

    The Black Sea fleet has been a bone contention between Ukraine and Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Moscow had a special arrangement with Kyiv to keep basing the fleet in Sevastopol, and concern over those basing rights was one of the reasons Russian President Vladimir Putin gave for his illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.

    The challenge to the fleet also endangers Russia’s hold on Crimea, said Volodymyr Zablotskiy, a Ukrainian military and naval expert.

    “Without Crimea, this expansion fleet will not be viable, and the capabilities of the Kremlin and the region will be limited. These are the strategic consequences of our future de-occupation of the peninsula,” he said. “It is the fleet that enables the logistics of the Russian forces in this direction. And the key to it is the possession of Sevastopol.”

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  • Ukraine hits back at NYT report it accidentally bombed its own market

    Ukraine hits back at NYT report it accidentally bombed its own market

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    KYIV — Ukraine on Tuesday pushed back against a New York Times investigation, which said evidence suggested that Kyiv accidentally bombed a local market in its own town of Kostiantynivka killing 15 people.

    According to the New York Times‘ report published Monday, a combination of witnesses, findings in Kostyantynivka and open-source investigation of video footage and local anonymous Telegram channels indicated the September 6 attack was actually a tragic accident, caused by a Ukrainian BUK missile system firing toward Russian forces from the Ukrainian-controlled nearby town of Druzhkivka.

    Ukrainian law enforcement, however, says the evidence they have about the strike points at another Russian war crime.

    “The enemy hit this civilian object from the S-300 complex. This is evidenced, in particular, by the identified fragments of the rocket recovered at the scene of the tragedy,” Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) spokesman Artem Dehtiarenko told POLITICO.

    “The investigators are also studying a number of other materials that indicate the involvement of the enemy in this shelling,” he added.

    Ukrainian Army Strategic Communications Center said: “Currently, an official investigation is underway, until the completion of which it is worth refraining from speculation and conjecture. Because this is actively used by Russian propaganda.”

    Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, agreed.

    “No doubt, the appearance of publications in foreign media with doubts about Russia’s involvement in the attack on Kostiantynivka entails the growth of conspiracy theories, and therefore requires examination and legal assessment by the investigative authorities,” Podolyak said.

    He said Ukrainian society will receive answers about what exactly happened in Kostiantynivka — a front-line town in the Donetsk region — after Ukrainian investigators finish their job.  

    “We must not forget: It was Russia that launched the invasion of Ukraine and it is Russia that is responsible for bringing war to our country. Ukraine, on the other hand, conducts exclusively defense actions, defending itself and its territories,” Podolyak said.

    In a statement, Nicole Taylor, managing director for external communications at the New York Times, said: “We stand by this report. Evidence analyzed by The New York Times and independent bomb-disposal experts suggests the strike on the market was caused by an errant Ukranian missile and appears to have been a tragic mishap. Ukrainian authorities said they are investigating the incident.”

    This story has been updated.

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    Veronika Melkozerova

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