20 killed as Russian missiles pummel Kyiv amid Ukraine's air-defence shortage
The deadliest damage was reported in Kyiv and the surrounding region, where residential buildings were ripped apart by the strikes. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said nearly 30 buildings across the capital suffered significant damage.
Russia launched one of its heaviest overnight attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens after waves of missiles and drones struck Kyiv and surrounding areas early Monday.
The strikes occurred on the eve of the NATO summit in Turkey, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to press allies for additional military support and stronger air-defence commitments.
The deadliest damage was reported in Kyiv and the surrounding region, where residential buildings were ripped apart by the strikes. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said nearly 30 buildings across the capital suffered significant damage.
Ukrainian officials said emergency crews spent hours searching through the wreckage of apartment buildings as rescue operations continued into the afternoon. Several people were feared trapped beneath collapsed structures.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said rescue workers recovered the bodies of an entire family, including two parents and their child, from the rubble.
Officials also ordered evacuations in parts of Kyiv's suburbs because of the danger posed by unexploded munitions.
RUSSIA OUTLINES ITS TARGETS
Russia's Defence Ministry described the operation as a "massive" strike using long-range missiles and drones.
Moscow claimed it targeted military facilities, weapons factories, airfields and energy infrastructure in Kyiv and several other regions. Those claims could not be independently verified.
Ukraine, however, said residential buildings bore the brunt of the attack.
"These are residential buildings. Places where people slept and lived their ordinary lives," Kyiv Military Administration chief Tymur Tkachenko said.
KYIV STRUGGLES TO STOP BALLISTIC MISSILES
While Ukrainian air defences intercepted most drones and cruise missiles, officials acknowledged they failed to shoot down any of the ballistic missiles used in the attack.
"To intercept ballistics, we need the means for interception. Russians are certainly using the fact that there is a serious deficit of interceptor missiles now, in Ukraine and the world," Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said, as quoted by AP.
President Zelenskyy said the latest bombardment demonstrated why Ukraine urgently needed more support from its partners.
"As long as Patriot missiles sit in our allies' stockpiles, Russia is only encouraged to keep destroying residential buildings," he wrote on X.
"The US and Europe have the power to stop this terror."
Ukraine's Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Russia had sharply increased its use of ballistic missiles in recent weeks.
"Fewer such missiles are produced worldwide each month than the enemy fires at Ukraine in that same period," he said.
The United Nations estimates that more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
FIGHTING CONTINUES ON BOTH SIDES
Even as Russia intensified its air campaign, Ukraine said it carried out long-range strikes inside Russia.
Kyiv's military claimed it struck three Russian oil refineries, including the country's largest refinery in Omsk, along with two vessels linked to Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" in the Sea of Azov.
Russian authorities also reported large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks overnight. Officials said hundreds of drones were intercepted, while parts of occupied Crimea experienced temporary power outages that local authorities blamed on what they called an "external impact."
Russia launched one of its heaviest overnight attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens after waves of missiles and drones struck Kyiv and surrounding areas early Monday.
The strikes occurred on the eve of the NATO summit in Turkey, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to press allies for additional military support and stronger air-defence commitments.
The deadliest damage was reported in Kyiv and the surrounding region, where residential buildings were ripped apart by the strikes. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said nearly 30 buildings across the capital suffered significant damage.
Ukrainian officials said emergency crews spent hours searching through the wreckage of apartment buildings as rescue operations continued into the afternoon. Several people were feared trapped beneath collapsed structures.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said rescue workers recovered the bodies of an entire family, including two parents and their child, from the rubble.
Officials also ordered evacuations in parts of Kyiv's suburbs because of the danger posed by unexploded munitions.
RUSSIA OUTLINES ITS TARGETS
Russia's Defence Ministry described the operation as a "massive" strike using long-range missiles and drones.
Moscow claimed it targeted military facilities, weapons factories, airfields and energy infrastructure in Kyiv and several other regions. Those claims could not be independently verified.
Ukraine, however, said residential buildings bore the brunt of the attack.
"These are residential buildings. Places where people slept and lived their ordinary lives," Kyiv Military Administration chief Tymur Tkachenko said.
KYIV STRUGGLES TO STOP BALLISTIC MISSILES
While Ukrainian air defences intercepted most drones and cruise missiles, officials acknowledged they failed to shoot down any of the ballistic missiles used in the attack.
"To intercept ballistics, we need the means for interception. Russians are certainly using the fact that there is a serious deficit of interceptor missiles now, in Ukraine and the world," Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said, as quoted by AP.
President Zelenskyy said the latest bombardment demonstrated why Ukraine urgently needed more support from its partners.
"As long as Patriot missiles sit in our allies' stockpiles, Russia is only encouraged to keep destroying residential buildings," he wrote on X.
"The US and Europe have the power to stop this terror."
Ukraine's Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Russia had sharply increased its use of ballistic missiles in recent weeks.
"Fewer such missiles are produced worldwide each month than the enemy fires at Ukraine in that same period," he said.
The United Nations estimates that more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
FIGHTING CONTINUES ON BOTH SIDES
Even as Russia intensified its air campaign, Ukraine said it carried out long-range strikes inside Russia.
Kyiv's military claimed it struck three Russian oil refineries, including the country's largest refinery in Omsk, along with two vessels linked to Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" in the Sea of Azov.
Russian authorities also reported large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks overnight. Officials said hundreds of drones were intercepted, while parts of occupied Crimea experienced temporary power outages that local authorities blamed on what they called an "external impact."
