KYIV, Ukraine — First came the seemingly endless waves of Russian drones throughout the day. Then, ballistic missiles began raining down as night fell.
In the early hours of the morning, Business Insider reporters huddled with dozens of others in a chilly, tightly packed car park-turned-bomb shelter in Kyiv. In the dim light, some people slept in their cars; others claimed one of eight beds or couches, tables, or chairs as the city shook above them.
Ukrainian air defenses fought fiercely against Russia’s overnight bombardment, which included 675 drones and 56 cruise and ballistic missiles, but some munitions slipped through, reducing entire buildings to rubble. “The main direction of the attack was Kyiv,” the country’s air force said Thursday morning.
For hours through the night, people in the shelter did what they could as they waited out the attack. They listened to music, watched TV shows on their devices, curled up and tried to sleep, talked quietly with others, and scrolled their phones for updates.
Ukraine predicted that a heavy bombardment was coming. There were warnings, and between 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, Russia launched over 750 attack and decoy drones in continuous waves across Ukraine, Kyiv’s air force said. The rare daytime barrage followed the end of a three-day ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the onslaught “one of the longest massive Russian attacks” against the country. At least six people were killed, and dozens more were injured on Wednesday, officials said.
Sergei SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images
Business Insider was on the road to the north of Kyiv around midday when iPhone navigation suddenly stopped working, a sign of possible electronic warfare activity.
Russian drones were flying nearby, and it’s not uncommon for Ukraine to use GPS interference to try to defeat them.
In the evening, Business Insider linked up with a Ukrainian mobile air defense unit operating outside Kyiv. They had been battling Russia’s Shahed-style attack drones.
Soldiers operating a .50-caliber machine gun shot down one of Russia’s drones, the unit’s commander told Business Insider. At that point, Ukrainian forces had intercepted more than 700 drones across the country throughout the day.
The commander said he believed that Russia was trying to exhaust Ukraine’s air defenses before switching to missiles.
Roman PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images
Air raid sirens sounded throughout the day. Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency said Tuesday that Russia had launched a large-scale air attack against its critical infrastructure and civilian targets, warning that it could turn into a “prolonged” bombardment.
“Russia plans to deploy a large number of air- and sea-based cruise missiles, as well as ballistic missiles,” the GUR said. The targets include “critical infrastructure and life support systems of major cities, including energy facilities, defense industry enterprises, and government buildings.”
Russian drones continued in waves. Around 1 a.m., Kyiv residents received reports of ballistic missile launches and took to the shelters. Explosions rocked the city, jolting the people sheltering in the converted car park.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 693 of the 731 Russian missiles and drones. Nearly 40 munitions struck their targets.
Local Telegram channels published footage said to show the moment a Russian drone struck a multi-story building in Kyiv, along with other scenes of damage across the city.
“Russia treacherously attacked Kyiv,” Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said, adding that “as a result of the shelling, residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in several districts of the city were damaged.”
Daytime strikes followed by an overnight barrage are an emerging tactic for Russia’s forces. Earlier this month, the Institute for Science and International Security, a US-based think tank, described the recent “emergence of continuous combined night-day strike cycles” as a “significant operational development” for Russia.
Video correspondent Robert Leslie contributed reporting.
