A fresh wave of Russian fire tore through Ukraine overnight, killing at least eight people and injuring more than a dozen, officials said, after President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned that Moscow appeared poised to unleash another large-scale assault.
Near the central city of Kryvyi, a ballistic missile slammed into a village home, killing four adults and two girls, aged five and 12, according to local authorities.
Kryvyi Rig’s defence council said eight more people were wounded in the strike and cautioned that “the death toll may rise”.
In the eastern Poltava region, officials said a drone hit a warehouse, killing one person, while attacks on the western city of Lviv left at least 15 people injured.
“The threat of further attack remains present. Stay in shelters!” Mr Klitschko said early this morning, adding there were fires in several districts of the city.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump (image: Zelensky social media account / Handout)
In an eastern district of Kyiv, five other people were reported wounded in separate attacks.
“The Russians prepared a massive attack several days ago, and there is a high probability that the strike will be carried out tonight,” Mr Zelensky wrote in a post on X late last night.
“Please, in all regions of Ukraine, pay attention to air raid alerts today and stay safe,” he added.
In the same message, Mr Zelensky renewed his appeal for Ukraine’s allies to provide the missiles needed to fill gaps in the country’s air defence network.
On Tuesday, he met US President Donald Trump at the White House, where the two discussed the possibility of Ukraine producing Patriot interceptors.
Increasing attacks
In the capital, an AFP journalist heard air raid sirens give way to a series of explosions.
Images released today by the city’s emergency service showed firefighters directing jets of water into damaged buildings and rescue workers searching through debris.
A house damaged by a Russian missile strike in Kyiv (file image)
According to the United Nations, last month was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since April 2022, as Russia intensified long-range strikes on towns and cities across the country.
Ukraine, in turn, has stepped up retaliatory strikes inside Russia in recent months, part of an effort to increase pressure on Moscow to return to negotiations after nearly four-and-a-half years of war.
In early July, Mr Trump signalled that he intended to allow Ukraine to produce surface-to-air missiles, as Russia increased its use of ballistic missile attacks.
Only US Patriot systems can intercept those missiles, but Ukraine has been running short of PAC-3 interceptor missiles.
That shortage has deepened since the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in February.
Mr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he had a “good meeting” with Mr Trump and that the US president “accepted that he will give us (Patriot) licenses”.
