KHARKIV, Ukraine — The text message was short and to the point.
“Strategic bombers in the air… go to the shelter when missiles come,” said an adviser to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC News he read the text, which was sent around 7 a.m. local time (midnight ET).
Within minutes, air raid sirens began to sound and people in the streets ran for shelter as loud explosions rang out. Russian missiles and drones started raining down.
At first the explosions were far apart and spaced apart, but after five consecutive eruptions they became closer together. Kharkov, the second largest city in Ukraine in the northeast of the country. The last one was quite loud.
Similar scenes took place in the capital Kiev, the southern city of Odessa and other cities in the country, Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram. It was the most intense strike in Moscow in weeks.
“More than 100 missiles of various types” were used, along with about 100 Iranian-made Shahed drones, the statement said. “And like most previous Russian attacks, this one is just as vicious, targeting critical civilian infrastructure,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia has deployed 11 TU-95 strategic bombers, which can carry six cruise missiles, depending on the type.
A 69-year-old man in the Dnipropetrovsk region and a man in the Zaporizhzhia region were among at least five confirmed dead, local officials said. Three other deaths were reported in the Kharkiv, Zhytomyr and Volyn regions.
In a bomb shelter in Kharkiv, online rumors gradually revealed that this was a large-scale attack, with drones and missiles appearing from multiple directions. They followed routes programmed by Russian mission commanders in distant bunkers, twisting and weaving to fool Ukrainian air defenses.
Videos on social media showed real-time sightings of the rockets flying, falling and exploding. Others showed people flocking to subway stations to wait it out.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a later statement that 15 Ukrainian regions had suffered damage from the barrage.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces used precision weapons to strike key energy infrastructure it said supported the military-industrial complex, including power plants, gas compressor stations and aircraft weapons storage facilities.
Separately, Poland reported that an “object” had entered its airspace and possibly landed on Polish territory, and that a search was underway.
After more than two years of war, Ukrainians appear to have become more resilient to such attacks, which came two days after civilians took to the streets in Kharkiv and other cities to protest Celebrating Independence Day and celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the country’s independence from the Soviet Union.
Many flooded social media with messages of gratitude, support and thanks for the Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines. Some praised their surprise raid in Russian region of KurskSince the invasion began on August 6, Ukraine has seized a significant amount of territory, including dozens of small towns, and captured hundreds of Russian soldiers.
After the air raid siren was lifted after about an hour, the situation in Kharkiv quickly returned to normal on Monday.
The cafes were full again, some serving food with a ‘gen’ label on it, meaning it can be prepared on a generator.
Life went on.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
