One of the most striking features of a war is the way people are able to get used to it. In the case of Ukraine, it contrasts with the willingness of people in their cities to maintain some normality despite the fact that less than an hour has passed since they suffered the heaviest bombing of the war yet. That happened this Sunday in Kiev. For four hours in the early morning, Russia fired 40 drones at the capital, a record number. Shortly thereafter, the daily curfew was lifted and the city filled with passers-by to celebrate Kiev Day, its main festival.
Kiev has been hit so far on May 14 by cruise missile bombings and Iranian-made Shahed bombing drones. This Sunday’s was the worst in terms of intensity but not in terms of damage. Anti-aircraft systems protecting the Ukrainian capital have reached a very high level of effectiveness. Of the 59 drones fired at urban targets across the country, the Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 58. While the drone intercept rate is close to 100%, the rate for cruise missiles is over 70%, according to the Ukrainian army. In May of this year, it was also reported that the United States-supplied Patriot anti-aircraft batteries shot down several hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.
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Early Sunday morning in Kiev was terrifying in terms of explosions, but also showed what defense resources Ukraine has amassed thanks to its international allies. The EL PAÍS envoy observed at least four drones being shot down a few hundred meters away, some by German Gepard autocannons; others with rockets. These could be from Soviet S-300 batteries, American Patriot or German Iris-T batteries. The priority of the Ukrainian Air Force is to intercept drones with cannons or even large-caliber submachine guns mounted on transporters to avoid using such an expensive weapon as the Patriot or Iris-T to kill drones. While the production cost of a Shahed does not exceed $30,000, a Patriot battery rocket can cost $4 million. Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the air force, confirmed this Sunday that the ideal is to avoid using these missiles to shoot down drones, but that they are essential in night raids, since they have guidance systems that do not depend on the visibility of the drones his military operates a canyon.
If Ukrainian radars and their positions at the front or on the border detect the Shahed’s arrival, several units armed with machine guns or anti-aircraft guns will be stationed on their way. In addition, large floodlights are deployed to illuminate the sky during a night attack. This allowed Ukrainian border services in Chernihiv province to the north to shoot down one of these planes with assault rifles at dawn on Sunday, or a patrol boat to shoot down another Shahed from the Kiev reservoir north of the capital.
Bomb drones were launched in waves, allowing the enemy to further push their anti-aircraft systems to the limit. EL PAÍS was able to film the characteristic sound of one of these drones entering the city center and then exploding over the Holosiivki district. One man was killed and one woman injured in that district. The city of Yitómir in the center of the country suffered the worst of the early morning attack. According to the city council, 26 houses, a hospital and a school were damaged.
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Not a day goes by when representatives of the military and the Ukrainian government stop demanding more anti-aircraft weapons from their international partners. These defenses allow Ukraine to function as normally as possible off the front lines. The Ukrainian government believes that the Israeli air defense system should be the model. That’s why both its President, Volodymyr Zelensky, and the White House are pressuring Israel to authorize the delivery of its defense batteries from the Iron Dome program, which many analysts consider the best in the world.
This Sunday life goes on in Kiev, which celebrates its main festival on the last weekend of May. No public events were organized due to the war, but the streets, parks, museums, theaters and restaurants were full of people who had fled a few hours earlier to seek refuge in the safest places of their buildings. Andrii Kolesnikov had lunch with his parents and brother on the terrace of a trendy restaurant in Shevchenko district this Sunday. The two brothers wore vyshyvankas, the traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts worn on special occasions. Kolesnikov, 29, assumed that Moscow would bomb again on Sunday night: “It’s true that they don’t need any special dates to attack us, but it’s their way of saying that they see us disappearing want.”
The Ukrainian Air Force has reiterated that Russia’s primary use of the Shahed is to weaken Ukraine’s anti-aircraft capabilities and to determine the location of anti-aircraft batteries. But an attack like yesterday morning is also intended to terrify the civilian population. The Kyiv City Council states that 200 people were killed by shelling in Kyiv during the 15 months of the war. The capital has also become a haven for around 300,000 people who have fled the eastern and southern provinces hardest hit by the fighting, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported last December. “Russia’s barbaric attacks continue to kill and terrorize civilians,” wrote Nabila Masrali, the European Commission’s foreign policy spokesperson, on social media. “Russian leaders and the perpetrators will be held accountable,” Masrali continued. “We remain committed so that Ukraine can defend itself.”
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