Defense Ministry: 740 air raid sirens in Kyiv since start of full-scale invasion

Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, 740 air raid sirens have sounded in Kyiv, the Defense Ministry reported on May 12.

According to the Defense Ministry, the air raid sirens combined lasted 851 hours and 38 minutes, or over 35 days.

For many Kyiv residents, those 851 hours and 38 minutes were spent hiding in bomb shelters or windowless corridors, sometimes to the sound of explosions.

However, "not a single missile or drone has reached its target" in Kyiv over the past two months thanks to the work of air defense, the Defense Ministry wrote.

Russia repeatedly attempted to attack Ukraine's capital city in the days leading up to May 9, a major holiday in Russia that marks the Soviet Union's victory over Nazism during World War II.

On May 6, Ukraine's Air Force publicly admitted that a Russian Kh-47 Kinzhal ballistic missile had been shot down over Kyiv Oblast for the first time since the start of the war using Patriot air defense systems.

Patriot air defense faces its toughest challenge ever in Ukraine

The wait is over — after almost a year of refusals and hesitation, Western-provided MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems have finally arrived and become operational in Ukraine. On April 21 and 26, Ukraine’s Air Force confirmed the full employment of two Patriot batteries. As Ukraine’s own Soviet-er…

Kyiv IndependentIllia Ponomarenko