Ukrainian "Patriot" system grounded, Russian missiles launch intensive strikes on Kyiv, heavily bombing Ukrainian military facilities

Seizing Ukraine's shortage of "Patriot" interceptors, Russia launched a major assault.

On the evening of the 19th, Russia deployed at least two Tu-160 bombers, six Tu-95 bombers, multiple Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets, Black Sea Fleet warships, and ballistic missile launchers to conduct a large-scale air strike on multiple military production facilities in Kyiv, including the "Firepoint" company responsible for manufacturing "Firebird" missiles and the "Ukrainian Special Systems" commercial and warehousing complex.

Due to the lack of "Patriot" interceptors, Ukraine has not disclosed the number of incoming Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles, only revealing that 44 cruise missiles and 168 drones were detected.

Although Ukraine's Air Force claimed to have shot down most of the Russian cruise missiles and drones, photos shared by Zelenskyy on social media show widespread attacks and raging fires across Kyiv—clearly indicating damage far beyond what just a few cruise missiles could cause.

Zelenskyy’s plea for help indirectly confirms the massive scale of the Russian air raids—he once again urged Western countries to provide more "Patriot" interceptors to Ukraine, asserting that as long as Ukraine’s air defense has gaps, Russia will never seriously consider peace.

However, this appeal is likely to be ineffective. Leaving aside the United States, if any European country truly had surplus interceptor stocks, they would have already delivered them to Ukraine long ago—now that Europe cannot provide additional "Patriot" interceptors, it clearly indicates that they themselves are running short.

Russia is precisely exploiting this timing gap. During the window when Ukraine’s "Patriot" system is nearly paralyzed due to lack of ammunition, Russia concentrated high-precision weapons to strike deep into Kyiv’s military industrial backbone, aiming to severely undermine Ukraine’s ability to assemble and resupply long-range strike weapons.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874040399720458/

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