Deadly Russian Strikes Hit Kyiv On Eve Of NATO Summit
Explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early on Monday, the eve of a NATO summit, as Russia mounted its second major attack on the city in days.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who is expected to attend the NATO summit, in Turkey, had warned of “a new massive strike,” and hours later, loud blasts shook Kyiv. The regional military administration said that ballistic missiles were flying, and Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to stay in shelters.
Mr. Zelensky said in a social media post later in the morning that 12 people had been killed and 64 others wounded, including two children.
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Thick, black smoke rose across the skyline as dawn broke. Mr. Klitschko said that emergency services were responding to multiple fires as well as attending at least one damaged apartment building where people were trapped. At least 15 residential buildings were destroyed or damaged in Kyiv overnight, the Ukrainian state emergency service said on social media.
In recent weeks, both Russia and Ukraine have intensified strikes on major cities in each other’s territory. Aiming to bring the war home to the Russian public, Ukraine has mounted a new and wide-ranging strategy of drone strikes into Russia. Kyiv has targeted oil refineries, causing fuel shortages across the country, as well as military production facilities.
Russia has increasingly targeted Ukraine’s large cities with missiles and swarms of drones, hitting factories and warehouses, but also apartment buildings, as its efforts to advance on the battlefront have largely stalled.
The two countries have doubled down on those attacks as peace talks have been largely set aside while the Trump administration has been occupied with the war with Iran.
Russia regularly launches barrages of various types of missiles and drones that overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses. Ballistic missiles can only be intercepted by Patriot air defenses. Ukraine has made frequent pleas for new shipments of Patriot interceptors, suggesting that the remaining supply is low.
In the attack early on Monday, Russia launched 68 missiles and 351 drones against Ukraine in the attack overnight, with Kyiv the main target, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. It said that all the cruise missiles had been shot down but that none of the 23 ballistic missiles launched in the assault had been intercepted.
On Thursday, Russia pounded Kyiv with missiles and drones in a nearly 12-hour assault that killed 31 people and wounded more than 100 others.
The NATO meeting begins on Tuesday in Ankara, Turkey. It is set to be dominated by the alliance’s response to the war in Ukraine.
