Kiev people's breathless night under Russian missile rain

The Russian missile attack on Kiev was so intense that Liudmyla Kravchenko's family could only stay in their apartment, not daring to run to the shelter.

Flashes of light and loud explosions shattered the silence of Kiev in the early hours of May 16 as Russia launched an "unusually intense" airstrike on the Ukrainian capital.

Most Kiev residents could not be sure whether the explosions were from Ukrainian air defense systems shooting down Russian missiles, or from missiles hitting targets in their city.

Firefighters deal with a fire caused by rocket debris falling to the ground in Kiev early on May 16. Photo: AP

Liudmyla Kravchenko, her husband and two children spent the night hiding in the hallway of their apartment building, afraid to risk going out to find a shelter. "There is no bomb shelter near us, and the metro station is quite far away... I think it would have been even more dangerous to find a way there during the airstrikes," Kravchenko told CNN .

Kravchenko said her family did not always seek shelter during air raid warnings, but last night was different.

"The attack was terrifying. After hearing the first explosions, we ran out into the hallway," she said. "Of course, if a missile had hit the apartment building directly, nothing could have protected my family, not two, three, or five walls."

Kravchenko’s one-year-old son, Artem, slept soundly in his mother’s arms as they waited breathlessly for the raid to end. The nine-year-old is now so accustomed to the sound of explosions that she knows “to drop everything and take cover immediately” when told to do so.

"My wife counted more than 30 loud explosions. From the balcony of our apartment, we saw dozens of Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles being launched. Everything happened so fast, we didn't even have time to get to the shelter," Tymofiy Mylovanov, presidential adviser and head of the Ukrainian School of Economics , wrote on Twitter.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kiev’s military , said the salvo of missiles on May 16 was the eighth attack on the Ukrainian capital this month. However, Popko said that despite the enemy missiles raining down, most of them missed their targets after being detected and destroyed by Ukrainian defense systems.

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least three people were injured and falling missile debris also caused some damage on the ground, but it was relatively minor.

Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi said air defense systems shot down all 18 Russian missiles and several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the raid.

Video appears of Ukrainian air defense launching 30 missiles in a row — Video is said to be of Ukrainian air defenses opening fire in the early morning of May 16. Video: *Telegram/Milinfolive*

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had destroyed a Patriot air defense system in Kiev. This is an advanced weapons system provided by the United States, which was expected to significantly change the situation in the skies over Ukraine.

Oleksandr Kravets, 50, a Kiev resident, said he witnessed the air defense system in action in the early morning of May 16.

"I live on the 13th floor of an apartment building and saw many pieces of missiles falling. Ukraine's air defense forces have improved month by month, the rate of destroying targets has increased continuously. I think this is due to both factors, experience and new weapons that we have," he said.

Last week, the Ukrainian capital was the target of the largest drone attack from Russia, with 36 drones attacking simultaneously, according to Mayor Klitschko. However, all of them were intercepted and damage from falling debris was negligible.

An explosion in the sky over Kiev on May 16. Photo: Reuters — An explosion in the sky over Kiev on May 16. Photo: *Reuters*

The latest raid on Kiev came a day after Ukrainian intelligence said Russian forces were no longer capable of mounting a large-scale offensive and were short of advanced long-range weapons, such as Kalibr cruise missiles.

The Ukrainian military recently said it had made gains in some areas near the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut, but officials remain uncertain about when they might launch a long-awaited counteroffensive.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on May 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev was "preparing very important counter-attacks". "We really need more time, but not too much," he said.

Vu Hoang (According to CNN )

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