Kyiv woke to one of the heaviest ballistic missile assaults of the war overnight, as Russia unleashed a sweeping attack on Ukraine’s capital that killed at least one person and injured 16, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Explosions rolled across the city in the pre-dawn darkness after Russia fired 41 missiles of various types, an onslaught that tore into buildings in multiple districts.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes damaged a range of sites, including residential blocks, warehouses, a supermarket and a dormitory, and noted that three of the wounded were in serious condition.
In western Kyiv, emergency crews sifted through smoking wreckage and sprayed water onto gutted apartments as they worked to contain fires and search the rubble.
One local resident, who identified himself to Reuters as Vlad, said he was inside his flat when the blast ripped away his balcony door, which then struck him in the head.
“My grandmother lives with me, and she can’t walk. How could I run away and leave her behind?” he said.
Near the centre of the capital, the bombardment also wrecked an underground pedestrian passage close to a metro station that has been hit repeatedly in the past, leaving a mound of debris.
Watch: Russian missile strike damages homes in Kyiv
In a separate attack in the northeastern Kharkiv region, which borders Russia, the regional governor said three people were killed and 16 others wounded when a strike hit a suburb outside the regional capital.
Russian forces also hit a rehabilitation centre in the neighbouring Sumy region, acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
Critical shortage of air defences
Ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities have intensified in recent weeks, as Ukraine grapples with a critical shortage of US-designed air defence systems.
Kyiv’s military said air defences brought down 18 missiles in today’s attack, which it said was primarily aimed at the capital. It added that 108 of 125 drones were also shot down.
Last week, Mr Zelensky said the United States and Ukraine had reached a political agreement on licences to produce Patriot interceptor missiles. He said he hoped production could begin by the end of the year.
With Russian attacks mounting in the fifth year of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, pressure is rising on Ukraine’s foreign partners to speed up deliveries of anti-ballistic capabilities.
“Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now,” Mr Zelensky said on X today.
“Interceptors are needed every day.”
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Meanwhile, Kyiv’s airforce said Ukrainian air defences shot down 18 of the 41 missiles Russia launched overnight.
It said 23 missiles and 10 drones struck 20 locations during the assault — an operation it said was directed mainly at Kyiv — and reiterated that 108 of 125 Russian drones were also downed.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s military said its forces hit two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea in an overnight operation.
In a statement, the General Staff said it also struck a floating crane in the Azov sea, adding that all three targets were being used to support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
