Moscow launched a large-scale air strike against Ukraine last night, with explosions rocking Kiev and other cities across the country. At least two people have died in the Russian strikes that struck Kiev last night. A fire broke out on the eighth and ninth floors of a skyscraper in the Dniprovskyi district following a drone strike, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the capital's Military Administration, quoted by local media. Damage was also reported in the Pechersky and Desnyansky districts. Meanwhile, on the ground, the conflict shows no signs of abating. Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have struck the Bryansk chemical plant, southwest of Moscow—a strategic facility of the Russian military-industrial complex. The announcement was made by the Kiev General Staff on Facebook, cited by Ukrainian media outlets, including Ukrinform.

According to sources, it was a "large-scale combined air and missile attack," which also used British-made, long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles launched from aircraft. The missiles, the statement continues, "successfully penetrated the Russian air defense system." The damage to the Bryansk plant is described as "massive," although the extent is still being assessed.

"The Bryansk chemical plant is an important part of the Russian defense industry. The plant produces gunpowder, explosives, and rocket fuel components used in the munitions and missiles Russia is using to attack Ukraine," Ukrinform reports. The news was prominently reported by the BBC, the broadcaster of the country that produces the Storm Shadow missiles, which explains that the cruise missile is launched from an aircraft, likely an F-16, from a distance of about 250 km from the target, and then dives to within a few meters of the ground, thus evading radar. It is then guided to the target by GPS, which follows the contours of the terrain, and a camera on the nose frames the target.

The attack, the BBC writes, came on the same day that British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders vowed to "increase pressure on the Russian economy and its defense industry" until Russian leader Vladimir Putin "is ready to make peace."

(Unioneonline)

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