Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv kills 1, wounds 16

Russia battered the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv overnight ‌with one of its biggest ballistic missile barrages of the war, killing at least one person and wounding 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.

A series of powerful explosions thundered across the darkened city in an attack that involved ​41 missiles of various types and ravaged buildings across several ​districts.

Residential buildings, warehouses, a supermarket and a dormitory were among the structures damaged, said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, adding that three people were in serious condition.

At one location in western Kyiv, emergency workers picked through smouldering debris ⁠and doused bombed-out apartments.

A ⁠resident who identified himself as Vlad told ‌Reuters he had been inside his apartment when a blast tore off his balcony door, which smashed him in the head.

“My grandmother lives with me and she can’t walk. How could I run away and leave her behind?” he said.

Closer ⁠to the city centre, the strikes destroyed an underground pedestrian passage near a frequently targeted metro station, leaving a pile of rubble.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russian forces launched co-ordinated aerial and ground attacks across multiple Ukrainian cities.

Critical shortage of air defences

On Sunday, in the northeastern Kharkiv region bordering Russia, three people were killed and 16 ‌wounded in a separate strike on a suburb outside the capital, the regional governor said.

Russian forces also struck a rehabilitation centre in the neighbouring region of Sumy, said Andrii Sybiha, the acting foreign minister.

Russian forces have stepped up ballistic ​missile strikes on Kyiv and other cities in recent weeks as Ukraine struggles with a critical shortage of U.S.-designed air ⁠defenses.

Kyiv’s military said it had shot down 18 missiles in Sunday’s attack, which was aimed primarily ⁠at the Ukrainian capital. It added that 108 out of 125 drones had also been downed.

Last ⁠week, ⁠Zelenskyy said the U.S. and ​Ukraine had reached a political agreement on licences to make Patriot interceptor missiles. He added that he ​hoped production could begin by ⁠the end of the year.

But the mounting Russian attacks in the fifth year of Moscow’s full-scale war are heaping pressure on Kyiv’s foreign partners to accelerate supply of anti-ballistic defences.

“Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now,” Zelenskyy said on X on Sunday. “Interceptors are needed every ⁠day.”