KYIV, Ukraine—Russian missiles pounded cities across Ukraine early Thursday morning, according to Ukrainian authorities, starting fires, killing at least two people and trapping others under rubble. The early morning missile attack was Russia’s largest in over a month, and came a day after reports of sabotage at a Russian military airfield in Chkalovsk near Moscow.
In this photo provided by the Kyiv City Hall Press Service, a fire following a Russian rocket attack is seen in Kyiv, Ukraine on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.
It also coincided with the United Nations General Assembly summit in New York, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a speech and presented a Ukrainian “peace formula,” and came on the International Day of Peace. A dispute about whether Ukrainian grain should be allowed to enter the domestic markets of Poland and other European Union countries has pushed the tight relationship between Kyiv and Warsaw to its lowest point since Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
“We are not going to risk the security of Ukraine,” he said. Poland has transferred large amounts of its older weapons to Ukraine and has been upgrading its own inventory with new equipment purchased from South Korea and other countries. The Ukrainian Air Force said it had intercepted 36 of 43 cruise missiles launched deep into Ukraine. Closer to the front lines, Kherson was struck with S-300 missiles and Kharkiv was likely targeted with other, shorter-ranged, weapons.