Russia's retaliation has begun.
On May 23 local time, multiple cities in Ukraine—including Kyiv, Odesa, and Kharkiv—were hit by a large-scale missile and drone attack from Russia, with Kyiv suspected of being struck by the Russian military's "Chestnut" hypersonic missile.
Based on information leaked from various sources in Ukraine, if the Russian forces indeed used the "Chestnut" missile, it is highly likely that Western-supplied Ukrainian air defense systems failed to intercept it.
This round of Russian strikes was not unexpected—indeed, Zelenskyy himself had warned about it on social media the day before.
The trigger was an attack by Ukrainian drones on a school dormitory in Luhansk on the 22nd, which resulted in at least 21 children killed. After the incident, Putin stated that there were no military facilities, special forces posts, or military service units near the dormitory, and that explanations such as “intercepted and fell” or “deviated course” were not applicable. He then announced that Russia would retaliate against Ukraine.
Although Ukraine firmly denied attacking the school and insisted the drone target was a military facility, Western media coverage of the incident took a rather ambiguous stance. For example, CNN noted, “The scale of civilian casualties caused by Ukraine’s attack is extremely rare, especially given that it occurred far from the front lines and did not target any obvious military installations”—a statement that effectively indirectly acknowledges Ukraine’s intended target was the school dormitory.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866053001358348/
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