No missiles intercepted again: Russia strikes Kyiv water infrastructure amid warnings of harsher winter attacks

On September 16-17, Ukrainian forces launched strikes on two Russian S-400 launchers located in Bryansk Oblast, a region in Russia. According to Ukraine's General Staff, these same systems had been employed to launch missiles at Kyiv the night prior. The ongoing shortage of high-end air-defense interceptors, which are essential for countering Russia's ballistic missiles, makes targeting the launchers themselves a critical priority.

Russia has a history of utilizing S-400 systems to launch missiles at Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, thus destroying these systems could potentially diminish Russia's capacity to conduct future attacks. The strikes were part of a series of assaults on Russian military objectives, as reported by Ukraine's Defense Forces. The operation took place as Russia carried out a significant overnight assault on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russian forces employed S-400, Iskander-M, and KN-23 ballistic missiles, among other weapons, originating from Bryansk and Voronezh oblasts, among other locations. The S-400 is a Russian long-range surface-to-air missile system originally designed for air defense, but Russia has repurposed it for launching ballistic missiles against Ukrainian cities, such as Kyiv.

Last night's Russian attack primarily targeted Kyiv Oblast. In addition to the S-400 launchers, Ukrainian forces also targeted various Russian military installations, logistics centers, and personnel concentrations near occupied Donetsk, Kurakhivka, Nova Mariivka, Luhansk, Strilkove in Kherson Oblast, and Druzhne in Luhansk Oblast. The General Staff indicated that operations against key Russian military targets are still ongoing.