Russia changed tactics and is trying to wear down Kyiv with continuous attacks by jet-powered Shaheds – NYT
Russia has shifted to a tactic of continuous waves of drone attacks on Kyiv throughout the day, rather than only at night as before. Jet-powered Shaheds are causing particular concern: they fly so fast that they often leave people with no time to reach shelter.
The New York Times writes about this, describing the past few days in the capital as a new and far more exhausting phase of the war, Censor.NET reports.
New intensity of attacks
Kyiv residents had already grown accustomed to nighttime attacks by slower drones, but now air raid sirens can sound almost continuously, with only brief intervals between all-clear signals. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in just four days Russia launched nearly 1,500 drones of various types at Ukraine, around 800 of them jet-powered — most of them targeting energy facilities, food warehouses, and shopping malls.
Against this backdrop, the threat of ballistic missile attacks is also growing. Ukraine urgently needs additional Patriot interceptors, which remain among the main means of countering modern Russian ballistic missiles.
Tragedy in Obolonskyi district
The new tactics are already directly affecting everyday life in Kyiv. On Saturday morning, dozens of customers were having breakfast on the terrace of See You Cafe in the Obolonskyi district as an air raid siren sounded. The cafe owner, Artem Rudychenko, and manager Ihor Kuzmych were talking near a dessert display when a blast wave shook the premises.
- Rudychenko heard a man screaming as he ran toward the nearest clinic carrying a bloodied child in his arms. According to police, a 2-year-old girl was fatally wounded by a fragment that pierced her lung. A Russian drone fell about 60 meters from the cafe.
"It is hard for us because I also have a small child. We cannot sit in a shelter all day. Air raid alerts now last all day, every day. We still need to go outside and get some fresh air," cafe manager Ihor Kuzmych said.
Despite the tragedy, the cafe reopened the very next day, with a shattered window boarded up with plywood. Near the spot where the girl was killed, people created a memorial of flowers and toys, while parents continued pushing strollers past it between drone debris and a scorched tree.
City life under a new rhythm
A similar situation can be seen across the city. Shopping malls close their stores several times a day because of air raid alerts, parents hesitate over whether to send their children to school, and some families are considering moving to western regions of Ukraine.
"They are acting like the Germans during the First and Second World Wars. But these tactics produce no military results. They are trying to spread chaos. They want people to flee Kyiv. They want to destroy our normal life," Kyiv resident Yevhenii Velychko said of the actions of the Russian military.
Older residents of the capital are also changing their habits. Eighty-year-old Anna Kucher and her friends now sleep in regular clothes instead of pajamas so they can immediately go downstairs during explosions, and they constantly check Telegram channels for information about drone movements. The women also fear that they could be left without food in winter if Russia continues striking food warehouses and nearby stores cannot restock their shelves in time.
"Yesterday, the drones were there, there, and there," Kucher said, pointing to the sky. "Today, it is the same."
Asked how she copes with the relentless pace of the attacks, she replied briefly: "Do not ask. Because we are going to cry now."
