Russia Turns to Civilian Terror After Failing on Battlefield, Ukraine Tells OSCE

Russia launched one of its largest coordinated air assaults on the Ukrainian capital early Thursday, firing 74 missiles and nearly 500 strike drones in a hours-long bombardment that tore through residential neighborhoods across Kyiv, killing at least 27 civilians and injuring 100 others.

The attack triggered immediate diplomatic outrage at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council, where Ukraine’s Permanent Representative Yuriy Vitrenko said the Kremlin was intensifying attacks on civilians because it had failed to break Ukrainian resistance.

“Instead of a blitzkrieg, the Kremlin has become engaged in a protracted war,” Vitrenko said, noting that Russia’s strategy has already cost it nearly 1.5 million casualties.

He stressed that, as Moscow fails to achieve its strategic goals on the battlefield, it is increasingly targeting homes, transport networks and critical infrastructure in an attempt to break public resolve.

According to Ukrainian officials, the overwhelming majority of Russian strikes are aimed not at military targets, but at civilian infrastructure. The latest attack damaged more than 130 buildings, including apartment blocks, an ambulance substation and central hotels.

Describing the overnight strikes as grave war crimes, the Ukrainian delegation renewed its call for Western partners to urgently strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses with advanced systems and interceptor missiles.

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Kyiv’s diplomats also warned of the worsening humanitarian emergency in Russian-occupied territories, particularly in occupied parts of the Kherson region. Civilians there remain cut off from basic food supplies, medical care and safe evacuation routes, while Russian occupation authorities continue systematic human rights violations, including the forced seizure of private property.

Despite the scale of the terror campaign, Vitrenko told the council that Russia had failed to destroy Ukrainian statehood or break the will of Ukrainians to resist. He also noted that Ukraine continues to strike Russia’s military-industrial complex and disrupt its oil infrastructure deep behind enemy lines.

The Ukrainian delegation concluded with a stark warning to the international community: words of condemnation alone will not halt the Kremlin. Only unyielding military aid, air defense expansion, and a tighter, loophole-free sanctions regime can compel Moscow to abandon its aggression and pave the way for a just, lasting peace.