Putin’s Bold ‘Duel’ Threat Sparks Chaos: Russia’s Deadly Missile Storm Devastates Kyiv

During his annual year-end press conference, the Russian leader mockingly dared Ukraine’s Western allies to a missile “duel,” seemingly taunting their air defense capabilities.

By Sheenu Gupta On Dec 21, 2024 Share with new partner:

Early Friday morning, Russia launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting Kyiv, resulting in the death of at least one person and injuries to 12 others, according to city officials. The strikes came at a critical time when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Brussels engaging with European leaders. Discussions there reportedly included the possibility of deploying European troops to Ukraine as part of a potential agreement with Russia to bring an end to the ongoing war.

The attacks followed escalating tensions fueled by remarks from both leaders. Hours before the missile strikes, Zelensky had posted a scathing tweet, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “dumbass.” The comment was a direct response to Putin’s provocative statements during his year-end press conference, where he mocked Ukraine and its Western allies by suggesting a missile “duel” to test their air defense systems. This exchange underscored the deteriorating diplomatic relations and heightened the already volatile situation on the ground.

At approximately 7 a.m., Russian forces launched five ballistic missiles from the Bryansk and Voronezh regions of Russia, targeting locations in Ukraine. According to a statement from Ukraine’s air force on Telegram, all five missiles were intercepted and successfully shot down by Ukrainian air defense systems. The incident highlights the ongoing intensity of the conflict, as well as Ukraine’s ability to counter such attacks amidst sustained aggression from Russian forces.

An attack involving five ballistic missiles is considered unusual, nearly three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Given the high cost of producing these advanced missiles, which amount to millions of dollars each, Russia has typically deployed them sparingly, making such an attack a rare event.

Loud explosions were heard throughout Kyiv’s city center during the assault, though it remains unclear whether the blasts were the result of Ukrainian air defense systems intercepting the missiles or if the missiles had successfully struck their intended targets. The confusion surrounding the source of the explosions only adds to the chaos and uncertainty in the midst of the ongoing conflict.

Kyiv’s city military administration shared the casualty figures and images of the destruction on Telegram, offering a stark glimpse of the aftermath. The photos depicted streets littered with debris, buildings with shattered windows, and burned-out vehicles scattered across the area.

One image showed a large fire raging in the heart of one of the city’s main thoroughfares, further underscoring the severity of the damage caused by the missile attack. These visuals highlighted the scale of the destruction in Kyiv following the early morning assault and the significant impact on both infrastructure and civilian life.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on Telegram that heating services had been disrupted in one of the capital’s districts following the missile strikes. This outage affected hundreds of residential buildings, as well as essential facilities including medical institutions and schools. The disruption compounded the challenges faced by residents and institutions already dealing with the immediate consequences of the attack, underscoring the widespread impact on both daily life and critical infrastructure in the affected area.

On Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Telegram that the missile bombardment on Kyiv was a retaliatory strike in response to a Ukrainian attack earlier this week on the Kamensky chemical plant, located in Russia’s southern Rostov region. The plant is a key facility that produces fuel for Russian missile systems, including ballistic missiles, as well as explosives and components for ammunition. This information was shared by Andriy Kovalenko, a member of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, in a Telegram post on Wednesday.

However, while Russia framed the attack as retaliation for Ukrainian actions, it is important to note that the timing of such air assaults is often influenced by the availability of Russian missiles. Moscow’s ability to carry out missile strikes is constrained by its need to stockpile these weapons, a limitation exacerbated by Western sanctions that have severely impacted Russia’s defense production capacity. This context suggests that while retaliation may have been a factor, the overall strategy behind Russia’s missile attacks is likely influenced by broader logistical and production challenges.

The missile bombardment occurred just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual year-end news conference on Thursday, where he made a provocative and mocking challenge to Ukraine’s Western allies. During the conference, Putin sarcastically proposed a “duel” that would test the capabilities of Western air defense systems against Russia’s intermediate-range, nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system. This bold remark was seen as an attempt to taunt Ukraine’s supporters while emphasizing Russia’s military strength, setting the stage for further escalation in the ongoing conflict.

Russia first deployed the Oreshnik missile, armed with a conventional warhead, in an attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro last month. During his year-end news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a provocative remark, suggesting a “high-tech duel” of the 21st century, mocking Ukraine’s Western allies. He proposed that they select a target in Kyiv, concentrate all of their air and missile defense forces there, and then Russia would launch an Oreshnik missile at the city to test its capabilities. Putin rhetorically questioned what the outcome would be, framing it as a “technological experiment” to see how effective the defenses would be against Russia’s advanced weaponry.

Putin’s comments were widely seen as dismissive and callous, with the Russian leader seeming to trivialize the ongoing human suffering in the conflict. In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of Putin’s statement on X (formerly Twitter), expressing his outrage by writing, “People are dying, and he thinks it’s ‘interesting’… Dumbass.” Zelensky’s remark underscored the stark contrast between Putin’s detached rhetoric and the grave reality of the war, highlighting the growing tensions between the two leaders.

On Thursday, before President Zelensky’s tweet, Russian hackers launched what Ukrainian Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna described as “the largest external cyberattack” on Ukraine’s official online registry for legal documents. Stefanishyna explained on Facebook that her team, along with experts from other agencies, was working to counter the attack and restore the affected systems. She confirmed that the attack was orchestrated by Russia with the intent to disrupt Ukraine’s critical state infrastructure. Stefanishyna also indicated that the initial recovery of the targeted networks would take about two weeks.

The missile strike on Friday came just days after the assassination of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological, and chemical defense forces, in Moscow. Ukraine’s domestic intelligence service, the SBU, claimed responsibility for the killing, further escalating tensions between the two nations.

Kirillov’s death marked the highest-ranking Russian military official to be killed outside of active combat since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite the blunt nature of Zelensky’s tweet, it resonated with many Ukrainians following Friday’s missile attack, becoming a symbol of defiance.

Ukrainian parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk shared his thoughts on Twitter, stating, “This morning, we once again witnessed the truth behind yesterday’s words of the President of Ukraine,” reinforcing the gravity of Zelensky’s remarks in the face of ongoing aggression.