Russia unleashed waves of missiles and drones at Ukraine early Monday, killing at least 22 people in attacks that authorities said exposed widening gaps in the country’s air defenses.
Fifteen people were killed and 56 injured in the capital of Kyiv, which was Russia's main target, according to administrative head Tymur Tkachenko. Seven more were killed and 29 injured in the wider Kyiv region.
Ukrainian officials stated that all 29 ballistic missiles launched by Russia struck their targets, highlighting Kyiv's need for more U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to reiterate this need at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, this week.
Emergency workers searched for survivors in the rubble of residential high-rises in two locations that suffered direct hits in Kyiv. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed the attacks targeted weapons factories, including sites producing drones, armored vehicles, and missiles, as well as facilities repairing air defense systems and fuel and energy infrastructure. These claims could not be independently verified.
The attacks come after Russia stepped up strikes on Kyiv in retaliation for Ukraine's recent long-range drone attacks, which have impacted fuel supplies and put pressure on President Vladimir Putin's government. A Russian strike on Thursday killed 31 people in Kyiv, the deadliest attack in the capital this year.
Ukraine's air force reported that Russia fired 351 drones and 68 missiles overnight, with ballistic missiles being particularly effective. "To intercept ballistics, we need the means for interception," air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said. "Russians are certainly using the fact that there is a serious deficit of interceptor missiles now, in Ukraine and the world."
Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainian forces have performed well against drones and cruise missiles but not against ballistic missiles, a shortfall he attributed to insufficient interceptor supplies. He urged U.S. and European partners at the NATO summit to bolster Ukraine’s air defense.
"As long as Patriot missiles remain in our allies’ stockpiles, Russia is only encouraged to keep ‘vanquishing’ residential buildings. The United States and Europe have enough strength to stop this terror," Zelenskyy said on X, formerly Twitter.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Russia is deliberately increasing ballistic missile attacks on an unprecedented scale, exploiting a global shortage of Patriot interceptors. He noted that fewer such missiles are produced worldwide each month than the enemy fires at Ukraine in the same period.
In response to Ukraine’s recent drone advances, which have targeted supply routes and slowed Russian advances, Russia's Defense Ministry stated that any increase in Western drone and missile supplies would be met with a corresponding increase in the number and power of retaliatory strikes. The ministry also claimed its air defenses downed 613 of 625 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Ukraine’s military confirmed it struck several Russian energy and military facilities. Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces reportedly hit the Omsk oil refinery in western Siberia, nearly 2,500 kilometers from Ukraine’s border. Omsk regional Governor Vitaly Khotsenko confirmed the attack but provided no details. The Omsk refinery is Russia’s largest, with a capacity of around 460,000 barrels a day, accounting for 12% of Russia's total refining output.
In Crimea, an energy provider reported a blackout across the peninsula following Ukrainian attacks early Monday. In the Russian city of Yaroslavl, two people were wounded in an attack where over 70 Ukrainian drones were downed. The Leningrad region also reported damaged infrastructure in attacks north of Moscow.