Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on Ukraine's capital early Thursday, with multiple explosions reported across Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to seek shelter as blasts rocked the city. The Ukrainian Air Force also stated that Russia was targeting the capital with ballistic missiles.
Klitschko later reported that several non-residential sites caught fire following the strikes. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The attack occurred just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia appeared to be preparing a major overnight assault.
"I received a report from Air Force Commander Anatolii Kryvonozhko," Zelenskyy wrote on X Wednesday, stating that Russia had prepared a "massive attack several days ago" and that there was a "high probability" it would be carried out overnight. Zelenskyy added, "It is important that our partners fully understand what is happening and that the protection of lives directly depends on their readiness, or lack thereof, to help us with air defense missiles."
The Ukrainian president made this appeal after returning from the United States, where he met with President Donald Trump. Trump recently announced at the NATO summit in Turkey that the United States would license Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense systems, according to The Associated Press.
"First and foremost, this concerns the United States and those partners that have Patriot missiles and can provide them to support our defense," Zelenskyy wrote. "Every partner knows what is needed and fully understands the consequences of marking time."
