You have to be perfect every time. They only need to succeed once.
Na madrugada de 16 de fevereiro de 2023, a Rússia desferiu seu décimo quinto grande ataque coordenado contra a Ucrânia, enviando 34 mísseis de múltiplas plataformas para cidades do norte e do oeste do país — um gesto que, como tantos antes dele, mirou não apenas estruturas físicas, mas a resistência de um povo inteiro. Dezesseis mísseis foram interceptados, mas dezoito chegaram ao destino, atingindo usinas de energia e sistemas de água que sustentam a vida cotidiana. Em meio à destruição, o mundo observava: enquanto diplomatas condenavam os ataques e um ministro israelense pisava pela primeira vez em Kyiv desde o início da guerra, a humanidade se via, mais uma vez, diante da velha tensão entre a força das armas e a persistência da diplomacia.
- Pela décima quinta vez desde o início da guerra, a Rússia orquestrou um ataque em múltiplas frentes — mar Negro, mar Cáspio e território ocupado — demonstrando uma capacidade de destruição sistemática que se tornara quase rotineira.
- Dezoito mísseis atravessaram as defesas ucranianas e atingiram infraestrutura crítica nas regiões de Dnipropetrovsk e Kirovohrad, deixando civis sem energia e água no coração do inverno.
- No dia anterior, um ataque a Pokrovsk matou três civis e feriu onze, destruindo quatro prédios residenciais e uma escola — lembrando que por trás de cada estatística há vidas e lugares onde crianças aprendiam.
- A resposta internacional oscilou entre a condenação simbólica — o chanceler italiano chamou os ataques de 'inaceitáveis' — e sinais mais concretos, como a primeira visita de um alto funcionário israelense a Kyiv desde o início do conflito.
- A chegada do ministro Eli Cohen a Kyiv, com paradas planejadas em Bucha e Babi Yar, sugeriu que canais diplomáticos estavam se abrindo discretamente, mesmo enquanto os mísseis ainda caíam.
Na madrugada de uma quinta-feira de fevereiro, a Rússia lançou seu décimo quinto grande ataque coordenado contra a Ucrânia. Trinta e quatro mísseis cruzaram o espaço aéreo ucraniano naquela noite, disparados de navios no mar Negro, de bombardeiros estratégicos sobre o mar Cáspio e de jatos táticos estacionados na cidade ocupada de Melitopol. O alvo era a espinha dorsal da vida civil: usinas de energia, sistemas de abastecimento de água, a infraestrutura que mantém cidades funcionando no inverno.
As defesas aéreas ucranianas conseguiram interceptar dezesseis dos trinta e quatro mísseis. Os outros dezoito chegaram. Andriy Yermak, chefe do gabinete presidencial, confirmou que as regiões de Dnipropetrovsk e Kirovohrad sofreram os danos mais graves. Drones também foram usados no ataque, embora a maioria tenha sido abatida. O padrão era conhecido: a Rússia atacando infraestrutura, a Ucrânia tentando defendê-la, civis presos no meio.
No dia anterior, um ataque russo à cidade de Pokrovsk, no Donbas, havia matado três pessoas e ferido onze. Quatro prédios residenciais e uma escola foram danificados. Não eram alvos militares — eram lares e um lugar onde crianças estudavam.
A resposta internacional chegou em diferentes registros. O chanceler italiano Antonio Tajani classificou os ataques como 'inaceitáveis', argumentando que bombardear civis é uma tentativa de ferir uma nação inteira, não apenas seu governo. Já o ministro das Relações Exteriores de Israel, Eli Cohen, desembarcou em Kyiv na mesma quinta-feira para encontros com o presidente Zelensky — a primeira visita de um alto funcionário israelense desde o início da guerra. Cohen planejava visitar Bucha e Babi Yar, lugares que carregam o peso da violência histórica e recente. Era um sinal de que, mesmo sob o barulho dos mísseis, o mundo começava a pensar no que viria depois.
Russia launched its fifteenth massive coordinated strike against Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, February 16th, sending waves of missiles toward cities in the north and west. The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed the assault in a statement released that morning, noting that the barrage had been designed to cripple critical infrastructure—power plants, water systems, the backbone of civilian life.
Thirty-four missiles crossed Ukrainian airspace that night, fired from multiple platforms across vast distances. Eight Kalibr cruise missiles came from a warship in the Black Sea. Twelve X-101 and X-555 cruise missiles were launched from two strategic Tu-95 bombers operating over the Caspian Sea. Another dozen X-22 cruise missiles were fired by six long-range Tu-22 bombers. And two X-59 guided missiles were sent from tactical Su-35 jets stationed in the occupied city of Melitopol, in Zaporizhzhia region. It was the kind of coordinated, multi-vector attack that had become routine over nearly a year of war—a demonstration of Russia's ability to strike from the sea, from the air, from occupied territory, all at once.
Ukrainian air defenses managed to intercept sixteen of the thirty-four missiles before they reached their targets. That meant eighteen got through. Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office, confirmed the attack and identified the hardest-hit regions: Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad. Drones had also been deployed in the assault, he noted, though most of those were shot down as well. The pattern was familiar by now—Russia attacking infrastructure, Ukraine defending it, civilians caught in the middle.
The previous day had brought its own violence. On Wednesday, February 15th, a Russian strike on the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region killed three people and wounded eleven others. Four residential buildings and a school sustained damage from the impact. These were not military targets. They were homes and a place where children learned.
The international response was swift, if largely symbolic. Antonio Tajani, Italy's foreign minister, called the attacks "unacceptable." He framed the strikes as something more than military strategy—an attempt to break a people, not just their government. "Attacking civilians means wanting to harm a nation more than its leadership," he said. Italy would continue supporting Ukraine, he promised, and would push for peace without requiring Ukraine's destruction.
Meanwhile, a different kind of signal was being sent from the Middle East. Eli Cohen, Israel's foreign minister, arrived in Kyiv on Thursday for meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky. It was the first visit by a senior Israeli government official since the war began nearly a year earlier. Beyond the formal meetings in the capital, Cohen planned to travel to cities that had borne the heaviest scars—Bucha, where mass graves had been discovered, and Babi Yar, the site of a Nazi massacre decades before and now a symbol of Kyiv's vulnerability to Russian strikes. The visit suggested that even as missiles fell, diplomatic channels were quietly opening, and the world was beginning to reckon with what came after.
Citas Notables
Attacking civilians means wanting to harm a nation more than its leadership. Italy will continue supporting Ukraine and push for peace without requiring Ukraine's destruction.— Antonio Tajani, Italian Foreign Minister
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter that this is the fifteenth attack? Does the number itself tell us something?
It tells us this isn't aberration anymore—it's the pattern. Fifteen times in a year means Russia has found a rhythm, a system. Ukraine's defenses are learning too, but so is Russia. Each attack is a test.
Sixteen missiles intercepted out of thirty-four. That sounds like a win. Is it?
It's survival dressed as victory. Eighteen missiles still reached their targets. That's eighteen chances for fires, for deaths, for a city to lose power in winter. The math of air defense is brutal—you have to be perfect every time. They only have to succeed once.
Why target infrastructure instead of military positions?
Because infrastructure breaks a country slower than soldiers do. Power plants, water systems—these are what keep civilians alive. Destroy them and you're not fighting an army, you're fighting a population's will to stay.
What does an Israeli foreign minister visiting Kyiv actually mean right now?
It means someone is thinking past the next missile strike. It means there's a conversation happening about what comes after, even while the attacks continue. It's not peace, but it's not pure war either.
The school that was hit in Pokrovsk—was anyone inside?
The source doesn't say. That's the question that haunts these reports. We know the building was damaged. We know three people died that day. We don't know if they were teachers, students, or people who happened to be nearby.