Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

10 hours ago

S&P 500, Nasdaq Near Record Highs as Rate-Cut Bets Creep Up

16 hours ago

Bobby Sherman, Easygoing Teen Idol of the 1960s and ’70s, Dies at 81

16 hours ago

Cargo Ship That Caught Fire Carrying Electric Vehicles Sinks in the Pacific

16 hours ago
Russia Says It Destroyed US Patriot System in 'Exceptional' Air Attack on Ukraine
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
May 16, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Ukrainian air defenses thwarted an intense Russian air attack on Kyiv early Tuesday, shooting down all 18 missiles aimed at the capital, officials said.

Loud explosions boomed over Kyiv as the nighttime attack combined Russian missiles launched from the air, sea and land in an apparent attempt to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses. No casualties were reported as Western-supplied weapons helped fend off the assault.

The barrage came as European leaders sought new ways to punish Russia for the war and a Chinese envoy sought traction for Beijing’s peace proposal.

Russia’s latest attack on Kyiv was “exceptional in its density — the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest period of time,” said Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration.

Valentyna Myronets, a 64-year-old Kyiv resident, said she felt “pain, fear, nervousness, restlessness” amid the assaults. “God, we are waiting for victory and when all this is over,” she said.

U.K. Ambassador Melinda Simmons tweeted that the barrage was “pretty intense.”

“Bangs and shaking walls are not an easy night,” she wrote.

It was the eighth time this month that Russian air raids had targeted the capital, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive. It also came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy concluded a whirlwind European tour to greet Ukraine’s key wartime allies, which spurred an additional tranche of pledged military aid.

Six “Kinzhal” aero-ballistic missiles were launched from MiG-31K aircraft, nine cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea and three land-based S-400 cruise missiles targeted the capital, air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said in a statement on Telegram.

After the first onslaught, Russia also launched Iranian-made Shahed attack drones and conducted aerial reconnaissance, Ihnat said.

Debris fell across several districts in the capital, starting fires, but no losses were reported, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Sophisticated air defense systems provided by Ukraine’s Western allies, including American-made Patriot missiles, have helped spare Kyiv from the kind of destruction witnessed elsewhere in the country as Russian forces press on with their tactic of long-range bombardment.

Russia Says US Patriot System Destroyed

A Russian defense official said that Tuesday’s attack destroyed a Patriot missile battery in Kyiv. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the system was destroyed by a “Kinzhal.”

He didn’t provide evidence, and the statement couldn’t be independently verified.

The bolstered air defenses have deterred Russian aircraft from going deep into Ukraine and helped shape the course of the war, military experts say.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov cheered the display of defensive prowess, calling it in a tweet “another unbelievable success.”

The barrage came as European leaders were due to attend a rare summit of the 46-nation Council of Europe, the continent’s main human rights body.

The two-day meeting in Iceland seeks to set up a way of logging damage in Ukraine caused by the Kremlin’s forces so compensation claims can be lodged against Moscow.

Meanwhile, a Chinese envoy is preparing to visit Ukraine and Russia in coming days as Beijing presses the peace plan it released in February.

Li Hui, a former ambassador to Moscow, also will visit Poland, France and Germany, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government says it is neutral and wants to play a role as mediator in the war, but it has given Moscow political support and a breakthrough appeared unlikely more than 14 months after Russia’s full-scale invasion.

At least seven civilians died and 14 others were wounded in Russian shelling of Ukrainian regions from Monday through Tuesday morning, the country’s presidential office said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

Fresno Advocates Want Respect for Immigrants, Defend Miguel Arias

9 hours ago

Crypto Industry Moves Into US Housing Market

9 hours ago

Hawaiian Airlines Hit by Cyber Attack

WASHINGTON – Hawaiian Airlines said on Thursday that some of its IT systems were disrupted by a hack, adding its flights were operatin...

8 hours ago

Hawaiian Airlines airplanes on the runway at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. April 28, 2020.
8 hours ago

Hawaiian Airlines Hit by Cyber Attack

A view of Harvard campus on John F. Kennedy Street at Harvard University is pictured in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., December 7, 2023. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

US House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

A convicted felon was arrested in Fresno County after investigators found a rifle, handgun, and ammunition while serving a search warrant. (Fresno PD)
9 hours ago

Convicted Felon Caught With Guns, Ammunition in Fresno Bust

9 hours ago

Fresno Advocates Want Respect for Immigrants, Defend Miguel Arias

American_Flag_Bitcoin_1280x720
9 hours ago

Crypto Industry Moves Into US Housing Market

Journalist Bill Moyers delivers the keynote speech at the People for the American Way Foundation's Spirit of Liberty dinner in Beverly Hills September 21, 2004. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

President Donald Trump speaks during a "One Big Beautiful" event at the White House in Washington, DC., U.S., June 26, 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
11 hours ago

Trump Says a Deal Related to Trade Was Signed With China on Wednesday

Clovis police are searching for Surinder Pal, 55, an at-risk man last seen in Fresno, after his car was found abandoned. (Clovis PD)
11 hours ago

Clovis Police Searching for At-Risk Missing Man Last Seen in Fresno

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend