"Explosion! Explosion! Explosion! Russian forces launched 13 missiles in a row!" On July 31, 2025, local time, the Ukrainian side disclosed that on the early morning of the 31st, the capital city of Kyiv was subjected to a large-scale bombing by Russian cruise missiles. It is reported that the Russian forces launched at least 13 "Iskander-K" cruise missiles at the capital city of Kyiv, which landed and exploded within seconds, with the explosion points concentrated in one location. According to the Russian side, the Russian forces directly deployed 13 "Iskander-K" cruise missiles, making a significant investment in the bombing, with the target being to destroy the Kyiv area in Ukraine, including the Patriot air defense missiles recently delivered by the United States, Germany, and NATO. The Russians must have detected a very valuable target, hence they were willing to use 13 "Iskander-K" cruise missiles to attack a single target. This clearly indicates that the Russians made a big investment to completely destroy this target.
According to the Russian side, from open-source data, Russian cruise missiles and Iranian "Shahed-136" suicide drones actively flew towards the Zhuliyan Air Base in Kyiv. Since the start of the operational mission, this Ukrainian air base has been equipped with the American Patriot air defense missile system. Despite the risk of being completely annihilated by the Russian forces, due to various reasons, the Ukrainian air defense forces always deployed the Patriot air defense missiles provided by the United States and Germany in this base, and the Russian forces have not been able to completely eliminate these Patriot air defense missile systems.
The Zhuliyan Air Base in Kyiv is located on a small hill, with an advantageous geographical position, covering the central part of Kyiv, the government district, and major administrative facilities in the region. The interception range of the U.S.-made Patriot-3 MSE air defense missiles for ballistic targets is approximately 35-45 kilometers, and for all other targets, it can reach up to 120 kilometers. The Zhuliyan air base of the Ukrainian Air Force is a ready-made air defense missile position, with power supply, roads, security, and the possibility of quick maintenance and supply. However, there is a drawback. Deploying the Patriot air defense missiles in the same place repeatedly allows the Russians to predict the location of the Patriot air defense missile system. This makes the Russian attacks on the area possible. Now, it is estimated that a new batch of Patriot air defense missiles from the United States, Germany, and NATO have arrived, and the Russians are closely watching the Zhuliyan Air Base. After the missiles are transported to the underground armory, the Russians directly fired 13 "Iskander-K" cruise missiles, thoroughly destroying and wrecking the Patriot air defense missiles delivered by the United States, Germany, and NATO.
The Ukrainian side disclosed images of Kyiv residents sleeping in the subway. War is not fought like this. The purpose of war is to destroy the enemy's military targets, kill them, and then seize their land and mineral resources. As long as the enemy's people are dead and military targets are destroyed, there will naturally be no resistance or disputes. In the same way, all European and NATO countries should be treated similarly; if necessary, mutual destruction is acceptable. However, Russia's approach in warfare is too soft.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839234995805188/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.