At least 21 people were killed and dozens more injured after Russia launched one of its most intense overnight missile and drone attacks on Ukraine this year, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to renew calls for Western allies to urgently provide additional air defence systems and missile interceptors.
The heaviest bombardment struck Kyiv and the surrounding region, where authorities reported 17 deaths, making it the deadliest attack on the capital area so far this year. Separate strikes in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions left four more people dead, bringing the nationwide death toll to at least 21.
Responding to the attacks, Zelensky said additional U.S.-made Patriot missile interceptors could have prevented many of the casualties.
“Interceptors could have saved lives,” the Ukrainian president said, warning that delays in supplying advanced air defence systems continue to result in “horrific casualties and destruction.”
He added that deliveries of missile interceptors from Ukraine’s international partners have been “significantly reduced” this year, despite repeated appeals from Kyiv for increased military support.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched 24 ballistic missiles, four anti-ship missiles, and 115 attack drones during the overnight assault. Ukrainian air defences reportedly intercepted 98 of the drones, but officials did not announce the interception of any ballistic missiles, highlighting the continuing challenge posed by high-speed missile attacks.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said residential buildings, warehouses and a railway station were among the sites damaged, with emergency crews continuing search-and-rescue operations amid concerns that people remained trapped beneath collapsed structures.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said one person was killed and at least 16 others injured within Kyiv city, while another 16 people died and 29 were injured across the surrounding Kyiv region. Firefighters were still battling blazes at five separate locations on Wednesday, with fires affecting an estimated 230,000 square metres.
Elsewhere, regional officials said one person was killed and several others injured—one critically—in Russian shelling of Kharkiv, while authorities in Donetsk reported three fatalities and 27 injuries following separate attacks.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces targeted logistics hubs, military supply centres and facilities involved in the production and distribution of unmanned aerial vehicles in Kyiv and the surrounding region. The ministry also claimed it struck three cargo ships near Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa, alleging they were transporting weapons and military equipment.
Neither Russia’s battlefield claims nor Ukraine’s accounts of the attacks could be independently verified.
The latest assault underscores Russia’s continued use of combined missile and drone barrages to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences, while reinforcing Kyiv’s warning that dwindling supplies of Western missile interceptors are leaving more cities vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated attacks.
The strike comes amid renewed concerns over the pace of military assistance to Ukraine, with officials warning that strengthening the country’s air defence capabilities remains critical to protecting civilians and critical infrastructure as the conflict enters another year.
