Russia launched waves of missiles and drones against Ukraine on Monday, causing at least 22 deaths. The capital, kyiv, was the main target, with 15 fatalities and 56 injured, according to administrative head Tymur Tkachenko. Another seven people died in the kyiv region and 29 were injured, the Ukrainian emergency service reported.
Shortage of Patriot interceptors aggravates defense
All 29 ballistic missiles launched by Russia reached their targets. The Ukrainian Air Force detailed that the enemy fired 351 drones and 68 missiles during the night. Spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on national television: “To intercept ballistic missiles, we need the means for interception. The Russians are using the fact that there is a serious deficit of interceptor missiles, in Ukraine and in the world.”
Ahead of the NATO summit in Türkiye, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged allies to strengthen air defense. “As long as Patriot missiles remain in our allies’ stockpiles, Russia is encouraged to continue razing residential buildings. The United States and Europe have enough strength to stop this terror,” he wrote in X.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov assured that Russia is intensifying ballistic missile attacks taking advantage of the global shortage of Patriot interceptors. “Fewer such missiles are produced each month than the enemy fires at Ukraine,” he said.
Impact on the civilian population
High-rise residential buildings suffered direct hits. In the Podilskyi district, a building partially collapsed. In Darnytsia, several buildings were damaged and people were searched under the rubble. In the suburb of Vyshneve, 600 residents were evacuated due to the risk of unexploded ordnance.
Khrystyna Piatetska, 20, said: “When we left the building, there were bodies lying around. Cars started exploding and we came out from under the rubble straight into the fire.” Halina Ivanivna, 61, said: “Everything was falling down.” Water poured out as smoke filled the air.
Moscow assured that its attacks targeted weapons factories in kyiv, although they hit civilian areas repeatedly. More than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have died since the start of the invasion, according to the UN.
In response, Ukraine attacked the Omsk refinery, Russia’s largest, almost 2,500 kilometers from the border. Analyst Gary Peach warned that a sustained disruption would worsen Russia’s fuel crisis. In Crimea, a total blackout followed the Ukrainian attacks.
