The nights in Kyiv can get very loud. The explosions, which often sound like thunder, indicate the defence forces deflecting hundreds of Russian drones and missiles infecting Ukraine’s skies.
Some of them manage to get past the defences and crash into residential buildings, schools, universities and even hospitals. An Iranian-designed Shahed drone is the size of a small car, so even the debris falling from a drone successfully shot down can cause tremendous damage.
On many mornings, Ukrainians find themselves emerging from bomb shelters to find the air thick with smoke and ground full of wreckage. The next few hours are spent finding the dead, rescuing the injured, and picking up pieces of what is left of their homes and businesses.
Such scenes have become increasingly routine in the last few months, as Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine, making this summer the deadliest since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The attacks come on the heels of failed peace negotiations, which itself followed the United State’s shift from being Ukraine’s biggest ally to gradually starving the embattled country, where I recently spent two weeks, of its support.
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