©picture alliance / newscom | kremlin
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the United States to evacuate its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. The call came after a new escalation in the conflict and follows the fiercest attacks on Kiev in recent years.
According to a press release from the Russian Foreign Ministry, during a telephone conversation with his U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio, Lavrov stressed that the situation in the Ukrainian capital is "dangerous and unstable". Russia had issued a public warning earlier in the day, urging foreign citizens, diplomatic staff and employees of international organizations to leave the city as soon as possible. For their part, Ukrainian authorities are urging residents to take cover and stay away from military and administrative infrastructure.
Heaviest attack ever on Kiev?
The call falls in line with Russia's large-scale attacks on Ukraine last weekend. According to Ukrainian sources, on Saturday night Russia fired no fewer than 600 drones and 90 missiles at Kiev, including the so-called Oreshnik missile, a medium-range hypersonic missile with nuclear capability. The Ukrainian Air Force reports that 549 of the 600 drones were blown out of the sky, while 16 missiles hit their targets. The damage is significant: four fatalities, 83 wounded and some 50 sites affected, including residential blocks, shopping centers and a museum.
Military experts speak of "one of the heaviest shelling of Kiev since the war began". It is difficult to make out whether it's effectively the heaviest attack ever. What is certain is that Kiev has rarely had to repel so many flying objects in a single night.
The Oreshnik: a dangerous symbolic weapon
Above all, the use of the Oreshnik missile makes Russian attacks merciless. Indeed, residents of Kiev barely have time to take shelter, and the damage and death toll caused by the missile are unprecedented. This hypersonic missile previously worked in an attack on Bila Tserkva, a city some seventy kilometers from Kiev. Oreshnik reaches speeds of around 6,100 kilometers per hour, five times the speed of sound, making existing anti-aircraft systems barely prepared for it. The missile can also carry large quantities of explosives, including nuclear warheads, and has a range of more than 5,000 kilometers. This means that major cities in Europe such as Brussels, Amsterdam, London and Berlin can theoretically be reached within 15 minutes.
Kaja Kallas, the high representative for European foreign policy, labeled the use of such missiles as "reckless nuclear play" and a form of deterrence politics.
Russia is sending a clear signal, not only to Ukraine, but also toward Western allies who continue to give massive support to the Ukrainian capital.
©picture alliance / newscom | kremlin