Volley of destruction in the skies of Kiev, new Russian weapons and the message that China has not (yet) sent: April 1st in Ukraine

The word volley describes abundant precipitation or, in more warlike jargon, a discharge of shots. There have been no shots falling on Kiev since the beginning of this 2024, but rather (in destructive abundance) drones and missiles, almost two hundred – 180 seconds, the Military Administration of the capital of Ukraine specified this Monday.

Sergei Popko, the head of the Administration, adds: the majority of the projectiles are Iranian-made – although the Tehran regime insists on rejecting having sold, or is still selling, drones to Moscow.

Although almost two dozen of these projectiles are Zircon and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which are difficult to intercept, Kiev, equipped with Patriot air defense systems (made in the USA), is proud of having shot down such missiles “several times”. incredibly difficult, but we resisted these blows. I respect and thank our air defense soldiers who cover the skies over the capital,” wrote Sergei Popko on social media.

And Popko concluded, calling for the West to send more air defense equipment: “No one in history has ever resisted such a high number of missile attacks. It is frightening to imagine the consequences if all these powerful means of destruction achieved their objectives.”

In Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, deeply attacked (Russian attacks on energy infrastructure left Kharkiv without power) by Moscow in recent weeks, there was no rest from the skies either. In this region, and this Monday, KAB guided bombs were used, causing destruction in schools, residences for university students or other residential buildings – with no deaths reported, however.

According to Igor Terejov, mayor of Kharkiv, Russia will be attacking the city in eastern Ukraine (where 1.3 million people currently live) using “new weapons, with greater range”. Terejov does not expect Russian bombing to slow down, although he says there will be little left to destroy: “Almost the entire energy infrastructure has already been destroyed and the private sector has also been damaged.”

Other news that marked the day

⇒ It’s diplomacy playing its role – or possible pressure. Vladimir Putin and Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, triggering the most serious security crisis in Europe since the Second World War, but they did not do so without allies – even if many did not “get their hands dirty”. An (unsurprisingly) important ally is China – and bilateral trade between both countries increased by 26.3% in the midst of the war, equivalent to 223 billion euros. Visiting China, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said he hoped Beijing would send “very clear messages to Russia” about the conflict in Ukraine. “China obviously plays a fundamental role in ensuring Ukraine’s independence and respect for international law, including its sovereignty,” Séjourné added. China, declaring itself a “neutral party”, but guaranteeing that it is working for now on a political solution to end the war, however refused to condemn Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.

⇒ Diplomacy, but this time in a warning tone, was also done by Donald Tusk, current Prime Minister of Poland and former President of the European Council. According to Tusk, Europe is in a “pre-war era”. And he warned, about the threat that Moscow represents and “a new era” that has arrived: “We are living in the most critical moment since the end of World War II”. Unlike China, Tusk’s Poland does not sit on the fence, and has been positioning itself politically and, perhaps, militarily. While it is true that it moved away from Orbán’s Hungary and Robert Fico’s Slovakia (both pro-Kremlin), in contrast it moved closer to the Franco-German axis – where a pro-EU and pro-NATO agenda prevails. This amounts to a weakening of the importance of the Visegrad Group (Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland) and a greater preponderance of the Weimar Triangle (Germany, France and Poland).