Kyiv awoke to scenes of devastation after Russia unleashed one of the war’s largest ballistic missile barrages on the Ukrainian capital, killing at least one person and wounding 16 others, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Powerful explosions shook the darkened city as 41 missiles of various types struck during the overnight assault, damaging buildings across several districts.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said residential blocks, warehouses, a supermarket and a dormitory were among the structures hit. Three people were in serious condition, he added.
At one site in western Kyiv, emergency crews searched through smoking wreckage while firefighters sprayed water into apartments gutted by the bombardment.
“My grandmother lives with me, and she can’t walk. How could I run away and leave her behind?” he said.
Nearer the city centre, a strike demolished an underground pedestrian passage beside a metro station that has frequently come under attack, reducing the walkway to rubble.
Watch: Russian missile strike damages homes in Kyiv
In the northeastern Kharkiv region, which borders Russia, a separate strike on a suburb outside the regional capital killed three people and wounded 16, according to the governor.
Russian forces also targeted a rehabilitation centre in the neighbouring Sumy region, acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
Air defences critically depleted
Russia has intensified ballistic missile attacks against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in recent weeks as Ukraine contends with a critical shortage of US-designed air-defence systems.
Ukraine’s military said it intercepted 18 missiles in today’s assault, which primarily targeted the capital. Air defences also brought down 108 of the 125 drones launched, it said.
Last week, Mr Zelensky said the US and Ukraine had secured a political agreement covering licences to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles. He expressed hope that production could start by the end of the year.
But the escalating Russian bombardment, now in the fifth year of Moscow’s full-scale war, is increasing pressure on Kyiv’s international partners to speed up deliveries of defences capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
“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 air force reported that Ukrainian defences had intercepted 18 of the 41 missiles fired by Russia overnight.
It said 23 missiles and 10 drones struck 20 locations during the operation, whose main target was Kyiv, while 108 of the 125 Russian drones launched were also destroyed.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces attacked two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea overnight, Kyiv’s military said.
In a statement, the General Staff said a floating crane in the Sea of Azov was also struck. It said all three targets were being used to support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
