At least nine people were killed and dozens injured in a Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on Saturday morning, Ukrainian officials said.
The missile strikes targeted several districts of the Ukrainian capital, causing fires, building damage, and power outages, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service and local authorities.
Seven people died in the Darnytskyi district, with 14 others injured, including two children, as reported by emergency services.
In the Solomyanskyi district, two people were killed and eight wounded, also including children, after a residential building was partially destroyed.
Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed the attacks, noting that a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district partially collapsed, trapping people inside.
More than a dozen explosions were reported across the city, with emergency responders rescuing over 100 people from affected areas.
Zelensky Urges More Air Defense
President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized the urgent need for more Patriot missile interceptors to defend against such attacks.
"As Russia's air attacks on our country continue unabated, air defence – specifically Patriot interceptors against ballistic missiles – remains a top priority," Zelensky said in a Telegram post.
He also noted a recent positive phone call with US Vice President JD Vance following his meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington, where air defense support was discussed.
During a cabinet meeting at Camp David, Trump expressed caution about allowing Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles domestically, saying, "We have not agreed to that.
We’re talking about it, but it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology."
He added, "People that you give that technology [to], they can some day turn on you. You know that is possible."
Zelensky’s request for Starlink satellite internet support to guide strikes inside Russia was also raised during his meeting with Trump, though no commitment was made.
Residents in Kyiv described the psychological toll of the near-daily missile attacks.
Liudmyla Nakonechna, 64, recounted being wounded by debris during the early morning strikes and said, "It’s getting worse by the day.
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."
Meanwhile, Ukraine has escalated retaliatory strikes against Russian logistics hubs, including multiple drone attacks on warehouses belonging to a major Russian online retailer, which Kyiv accuses of supporting the Russian war effort.
The latest missile assault follows a recent large-scale Russian attack that killed at least eight people, including six members of one family, and a suspected Russian missile incursion into Polish airspace.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the recent attacks as "a hell of a night in Kyiv," stressing the critical need for enhanced air and missile defense systems to counter Russia's intensified aerial campaign.
