Ukraine's Capital Faces Sleepless Nights Amid Russian Attacks
For the past two months, Russia has unleashed nighttime drone and missile assaults on Kyiv in a summer offensive that is straining the city's air defences, and has its 3.7 million residents exhausted and on edge.
Other towns and villages have seen far worse since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in early 2022 - especially those close to the frontline far to the east and south.
Many have been damaged or occupied as Russia advances, and thousands of people have fled to the capital, considered the best-defended city in the country.
But recent heavy attacks are beginning to change the mood. At night, residents rush to metro stations deep underground in scenes reminiscent of the German "Blitz" bombings of London during World War Two.
Slavytska has started nervously checking Telegram channels at home even before the city's alarms sound, after she found herself in early July running into the street to reach the metro with explosions already booming in the sky.
The number of people like Slavytska taking refuge in the cavernous Soviet-era ticket halls and drafty platforms of Kyiv's 46 underground stations soared after large-scale bombardments slammed the city five times in June.
Previously, the loud air raid alert on her phone sent Emil into bouts of shaking and he would cry "Corridor, corridor, mum. I'm scared. Corridor, mum," Slavytska said. Now, accustomed to the attacks, he says more calmly "Mum, we should go".
"We used to come here less often, about once a month," Slavytska said, sheltering in Akademmistechko station in western Kyiv. "That was six months ago. Now we come two or three times a week." She spent the night curled up on her pink mat with Emil by a column lining the subway tracks.
The subway system recorded 165,000 visits during June nights, more than double the 65,000 visits in May and nearly five times the number in June last year, its press service told Reuters.
More people were heading to the shelter because of "the scale and lethality" of attacks, the head of Kyiv's military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, told Reuters. He said strikes killed 78 Kyiv residents and injured more than 400 in the first half of the year.
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Lawler's not adding burden, in my judgment, in his proposal.' 'The president has these freedoms, but in this bill, he's granted statutory relief that he doesn't have,' Hill added. 'The bill is a balanced bill.' Lawler acknowledged that 'the administration's position is going to be vital' when it comes to building sufficient support in the full House and Senate. Sherman raised concerns over lifting sanctions after sectarian violence in Syria led to the death of a US citizen last week. He voted yes after Lawler agreed to adopt his amendment that would add a new condition for lifting sanctions: 'reasonable steps … to protect religious and ethnic minorities.' As the Trump administration seeks to bring Syria into the Abraham Accords, Lawler expressed optimism that his proposal could be a helpful tool. The president in May promised Syria's new president sanctions relief if Damascus agreed to pursue normalized relations with Israel. 'This, in implementation, can be used as a vehicle by which to help actually normalize economic ties with Israelis,' Lawler said. Lawler said the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which also has jurisdiction over Syria sanctions, will also need to mark up the legislation. Meeks said that committee was his preferred venue for further discussion about the proposal. ROOM FOR DISAGREEMENT Those advocating to repeal the Caesar Act make two main arguments. Republicans say it would provide Trump with the most flexibility possible; Democrats say it would be the best bet for protecting Syrians. 'Sanctions are not effective in what the goal here is,' Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said. 'On the ground, it is the Syrian people that are hurting because of these sanctions.' The Syrian Emergency Task Force said in a press release Tuesday that the bill 'goes against President Trump's agenda of 'giving Syria a chance' and allowing long-term investment.' ELEANOR'S VIEW A lot of the uncertainty surrounding Lawler's bill can be attributed to its relatively short runway. He only introduced the proposal last week, which hasn't left much time for members to decide how they want to proceed. Either way, the Trump administration's approach is critical. If it endorses the legislation, Lawler's proposal is on a glide path to enactment. If the administration tries to pump the brakes, it seems inevitable that the bill's momentum slows. Semator
