At least nine people were killed and 22 civilians injured in Kyiv after Russia launched an intense barrage of ballistic missiles and drones overnight into Saturday, Ukrainian authorities reported.
Rescue workers evacuated 35 people from a five-story residential building in the Solomianskyi District that was damaged by falling debris, leading to a fire. Two people died in that incident, with eight reported injured, including two children, according to Ukraine’s state emergency service.
In the Darnytskyi District, seven people were killed and another 14 injured when the attack caused fires and damage to houses, vehicles, and an administrative building. Emergency workers also extinguished a fire in a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly urged the United States and other Western partners to provide additional Patriot anti-ballistic missile defense systems to counter Russian missile attacks. He stated late Friday that air defense, specifically interceptors for Patriot systems against ballistic missiles, remains a top priority. Zelensky’s comments followed a meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and a prior discussion with President Donald Trump.
During a NATO summit in Ankara in July, Trump indicated the U.S. would grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot systems. However, during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, he stated that a final decision on the matter had not yet been made.
This latest attack on Kyiv occurred just two days after a large-scale Russian ballistic missile and drone assault across Ukraine resulted in the deaths of 10 civilians and injured more than 50 others. That earlier strike also saw a Russian missile enter Polish airspace.
Liudmyla Nakonechna, 64, described being woken by loud explosions at 1:30 a.m. while taking cover in a basement shelter. "I ran into the corridor and was standing there when the bathroom door was blown off its hinges and struck me in the leg," Nakonechna said, recounting shattered glass from her balcony and bedroom windows. She noted that while she had not taken cover since Russia's full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, the increasing frequency of attacks had become psychologically overwhelming. "Whereas before there was an attack once every two weeks, or maybe once a week, now it happens practically every day. It is incredibly hard to bear this psychologically," she stated.