Small objects covered by thermal sheets reflect intermittent light from flashing lights. In the still-fresh darkness of dawn, firefighters moved through the wreckage with almost paternal concern, as if every step was a violation, as if the silence resulting from the deaths of three children demanded respect rather than pity. In Ternopil, yesterday morning, the acrid smell of smoke had an apt name: revenge. The attack that devastated the heart of western Ukraine on the night between November 18 and 19 was not only one of the most violent attacks Russia has carried out since the start of the war: it was a direct response to four American Atacms missiles launched on Tuesday against the Russian city of Voronezh. Moscow claims to have shot them down thanks to the S-400 and Pantsir systems. But the backlash kept coming, calibrated, massive, and primarily symbolic. A combined attack consisting of 48 missiles and more than 470 drones, launched from the Vologda and Astrakhan regions of Russia, hit several Ukrainian cities far from the active front: Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv. The western region, chosen by many Ukrainians as a safe haven in the darkest months of the conflict. But it was Ternopil that suffered the consequences: two residential buildings with 75 apartments were destroyed by a Kh-101 cruise missile, the same missile that hit the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kiev in July 2024. In one of the buildings, the top floor practically disappeared: the rooms that were intact until last night now looked like pages torn from a book. On the other hand, fires burned dozens of apartments from the ground up, leaving empty, blackened shells. The number of victims was huge: 25 people died, including three children. More than 100 people were injured, 21 of them minors. The Ukrainian Air Force reported 134 people injured in attacks that hit several regions. A video circulating on social media shows the missile’s arrival: there appears to be no interception, the hiss of the engines is clearly audible, infrared traps firing in sequence are visible. Then the impact, and complete darkness.
“More than 470 drones and 48 missiles attacked Ukraine in just one night,” Turkey’s Zelensky said. “Russia will never stop alone. Its goal is to continue killing, destroying people’s lives even while sleeping, as in Ternopil.” The attacks caused widespread power outages and damage to civil and energy infrastructure. Emergency teams worked even at night to avoid the collapse of the local power grid. According to Moscow “only the barracks were attacked”. Even lies are embarrassing because they are crushed.
The raids also had an impact beyond Ukraine’s borders. In Poland, for precautionary reasons, Rzeszow and Lublin airports were temporarily closed, while Polish and allied military aircraft took to the skies to monitor the situation. Warsaw Defense Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz also announced plans to deploy 10,000 troops to protect the country’s critical infrastructure, fearing sabotage or accidents resulting from increasingly unpredictable conflicts beyond the eastern borders. An agreement was also agreed with Kiev to counter acts of sabotage.
On the pitch, the situation is still difficult
Pokrovsk, where Commander Syrskyj went yesterday. Moscow reported that it had taken control of the Hulyaipole-Malynivka section of the highway and its troops were moving towards the eastern border towards Zaporizhzhia.
