{"id":1781,"date":"2026-07-07T16:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/2026\/07\/07\/kiev-lit-the-fuse-russia-lit-up-kiev\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T16:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:34:11","slug":"kiev-lit-the-fuse-russia-lit-up-kiev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=1781","title":{"rendered":"Kiev lit the fuse \u2013 Russia lit up Kiev"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moscow deflected a huge UAV assault and dealt crushing strikes on Ukraine\u2019s military production, exposing the mismatch in aims and effect.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the eve of the NATO summit in Ankara, Ukraine and Russia seemed to be locked in a competition to see who can torch more of the opponent\u2019s capital. Russia won.<\/p>\n

On the night of July 7, Kiev launched over 430 UAVs at Moscow and the Moscow region \u2013 the biggest such attack in the past two years. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, over 95% of all Ukrainian drones launched that night were targeting the Russian capital. Russia shot down most of them well before they reached the capital, except 36, which were intercepted near Moscow.<\/p>\n

The attack was not one-off, Ukraine has been launching wave after large wave of UAVs at Russia\u2019s capital region almost nightly in the past two weeks. The most significant infrastructural damage was dealt to an oil refinery in Moscow\u2019s southeast. Targeting fuel refineries and other energy infrastructure has become Kiev\u2019s modus operandi as it aims to inflict economic damage on Russia.<\/p>\n

Compare that to the Russian strikes on Kiev on July 2 and July 6 \u2013 both of which Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko called \u201cthe most massive\u201d<\/em> attacks of the kind. The strikes hit multiple production sites in Kiev, specifically those making drones, warheads, and communication equipment. Russian forces used cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as long-range UAVs. According to Ukrainian media reports, Ukrainian air defenses did not manage to intercept any of the missiles.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT\"
Kiev ablaze as Russia targets Ukrainian war infrastructure (VIDEOS)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Russia calls such strikes retaliatory, as they come in response to Kiev\u2019s own attacks \u2013 not to whatever economic damage Ukraine manages to inflict, but to its terrorist tactics. Because Kiev does not only target fuel logistics nodes, it also deliberately targets Russian civilians. The turning point, after which Russia ramped up its strikes, was when Kiev hit a college dorm in Starobelsk, Lugansk People\u2019s Republic, killing 21 people, one of the highest civilian fatality counts for a single attack. It wasn\u2019t a mistake, either \u2013 the barrage came in waves and lasted for hours, and there were no military installations anywhere near the target.<\/p>\n

See the difference? Kiev is trying to hurt Moscow, deal economic damage, hinder or paralyze fuel supplies. Moscow is trying to secure its airspace, its energy infrastructure, and its civilians by crippling Kiev\u2019s ability to carry out those exact strikes.<\/p>\n

But more importantly, Vladimir Zelensky, Ukraine\u2019s unelected (because he canceled the elections) leader, is trying to impress his Western backers. Those drones he keeps flinging at Russia, are paid for by those same NATO members gathered in T\u00fcrkiye to decide whether to send more cash his way. These sponsors \u2013 who orchestrated events that set this war in motion in the first place \u2013 need reassurance that their money is buying them results. And what better results than seeing the enemy capital in flames?<\/p>\n

And if such results are not delivered, then the powers that be in Brussels, Washington, Berlin, Paris, and elsewhere may just decide its time to cut their losses and throw their faithful proxy Zelensky under the bus.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT
Which military sites did Russia hit in Kiev during its latest retaliatory barrage?<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

They probably won\u2019t \u2013 not yet. They\u2019ve blown too much money and (especially the Europeans) twisted the arms of their own taxpayers too far, and they need to keep propping Kiev up as the supposed last line of defense against Big Bad Russia, which, as some in the EU keep preaching, will inevitably attack Western Europe for some reason after it\u2019s done with Ukraine.<\/p>\n

In this sense, Russia\u2019s successful strikes on Kiev may actually play into Kiev\u2019s and its backers\u2019 hand \u2013 Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga has already demanded supplies of NATO air defense missiles.<\/p>\n

Will this stop Russia? Again, likely not. Because Russia, unlike Kiev, isn\u2019t trying to impress some foreign sugar daddy. As evidenced by the targets chosen and the objectives achieved, Russia\u2019s goal is to methodically dismantle Ukraine\u2019s ability to launch deep strikes into Russian territory. If it has to get through advanced Western missile defense systems to do so \u2013 that\u2019s what it will have to do. If anything, it\u2019s an incentive to ramp up the strikes further to disable more of Ukraine\u2019s drone capabilities before those systems are delivered.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Russian ground troops will continue to advance on the frontline, liberating hamlet after village after town from dwindling Ukrainian manpower thrown into the grinder by a corrupt regime and twisted Western interests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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