Russian strike kills 13 and injures 40 in Kyiv as Ukraine grapples with air defence shortages
At least 13 people have been killed and 40 injured in the latest Russian strikes targeting the Ukrainian capital, BBC News reported.
Russian strikes hit residential buildings in the capital KyivThe latest strikes on Kyiv began around midnight local time as air raid sirens sounded across the city, followed by the impact of around 20 Russian missiles.
Apartment blocks and warehouses were struck across the city overnight, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine stated, while a children’s hospital and school were also damaged.
The deaths were the result of a shortage of air defence missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, which Kyiv relies on Western allies to supply.
Speaking to BBC News at a wrecked apartment block in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Ukraine needed “ammunition, anti-missile systems – we need support from our partners”.
Writing on Telegram, Zelensky wrote, “as long as Ukraine does not have enough anti-ballistics, Russia will not seriously think about peace”.
He added, “The interceptors for the Patriots have not yet been replaced, and they are needed every day. Each additional missile saves the lives of our people.”
The Russian defence ministry said it used air, land and sea-based weapons to target military facilities and warehouses. On Thursday morning, the Ukrainian Air Force implied that none of the Russian ballistic missiles used overnight was intercepted. Russians used 168 drones and 44 missiles in the attack, mainly targeting Kyiv, Ukraine’s air force said, adding that air defences shot down 146 drones and 39 cruise missiles.
Ukraine has relied on American supplies of Patriot interceptor missiles to combat Russian ballistic missiles, but the U.S. has used much of its stockpile during the war in the Middle East and has been supplying Ukraine with less.
Cars were left burning in Kyiv after the strikesThe strikes cut power to thousands of properties, plunging parts of the Kyiv Oblast into darkness.
A day of mourning for those killed overnight was declared on Friday.
Elsewhere in the broader Kyiv region, an attack in the Brovary and Boryspil Districts killed one man and wounded seven. One person was killed and 11 injured in Donetsk Oblast, a local official said.
In Russia, the defence ministry said that 726 Ukrainian drones had been shot down after being launched at various regions across the country.
Ukrainian experts point out that countries, including China, Greece, North Korea, India, Hungary, Slovakia, Iran, and Brazil, assist Moscow in killing Ukrainians in its war against Ukraine by funding the Russian budget through trade.
Human rights organisations and Ukrainian authorities emphasise that structural economic pressure remains a key tool to halt such atrocities. They urge every nation and individual government worldwide to strictly enforce global sanctions, close existing regulatory loopholes, and completely sever remaining commercial and technological ties with the Russian Federation. Civil society groups stress that any continued cooperation by foreign businesses directly contributes to the resources Moscow uses to sustain its ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
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