The war in Ukraine is entering a new phase of terror, according to Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor in chief of The Economist. After returning from a reporting trip to Ukraine, she told FRESH AIR that Kyiv is under extraordinary bombardment from Russia, and that both sides are developing new weapons with lethal consequences.
Beddoes visited Ukraine for the fourth time since Russia invaded 4 1/2 years ago. Her earlier visits took her to Kyiv in 2022, when the city was nearly empty and Russian forces sat just outside its gates, and again later when the city felt relatively safe due to effective air defenses. This trip was different.
“In the last couple of months, but really the last few weeks, has been under extraordinary bombardment from the Russians. And they are basically trying to make life unlivable in a city of several million people.”
The Exhaustion Of Interceptors
The biggest change in Kyiv’s favor has been the near-total exhaustion of its interceptor supplies. The PAC-3 interceptors, produced by the U.S., have protected Ukraine against ballistic missiles for the past couple of years. But they are in extremely short supply.
The interceptors were used heavily in the Middle East during the war with Iran. That left Ukraine with almost none left. Without them, the Russians can bombard the city at night with ballistic missiles.
The New Jet-Propelled Drones
The second change favors Russia. The Shahed drone, originally made by Iran and produced at scale by the Russians, has been upgraded with jet propulsion. This makes them go much higher and much faster, making them much harder to intercept.
Ukrainians had built defensive drones that could intercept the Shaheds with a 95% success rate. That rate has dropped closer to 40% with the new jet propulsion. The Russians have enormous quantities of these drones and are sending them into Ukraine all day and all night.
What Civilians Face In Kyiv
Civilians in Kyiv are used to air raid sirens. They have apps on their phones that warn of ballistic missiles and jet Shaheds. The app goes off constantly, and residents learn to live with it.
Beddoes described the normalization of constant alerts during her visit. “Basically, it’s going off the whole time,” she said. “And you are trying to live a normal life.”
But the difference now is that the alerts are happening closer to home. Residents look at the warnings and assess whether the threat is likely to hit their part of town.
The Economic Threat To Ukraine
The bombardment is not just a matter of daily terror. It also poses serious threats to Ukraine’s economy.
Beddoes emphasized the scale of the threat. “They are basically trying to make life unlivable in a city of several million people,” she said.
What Beddoes Said About Reporting
Beddoes made the case for her reporting trips. “I think this is the most important geopolitical conflict in Europe in, you know, the last 70 years,” she said. “And I actually have a kind of personal soft spot for Ukraine.”
She noted that this was the most sobering trip since her first visit in 2022. The city was under extraordinary bombardment, and the Russians were trying to make life unlivable.
The war is changing in ways that bring a new level of terror to Ukrainian citizens, and the economic costs are severe.
The situation in Kyiv is deteriorating fast. The exhausted interceptors and the new drones give Russia a significant advantage. For civilians, the constant alerts are becoming the new normal.
| Trip | Date | Context |
|---|---|---|
| First | 2022 | Russians outside Kyiv; city nearly empty |
| Second and third | Later visits | City feels safe with good air defenses |
| Fourth | Recent | Extraordinary bombardment; interceptors exhausted |
The war with Iran, trade, tariffs and the state of U.S., European and Canadian alliances were also discussed during the interview. But the focus of Beddoes’ reporting was clear: the new weapons and tactics are reshaping the conflict, and the people of Kyiv are paying the price.
Source material: “How Ukrainians are coping with new, more deadly Russian attacks,” NPR.
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