At least 26 people were killed after Russia launched a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and surrounding areas early Monday, Ukrainian officials said, marking the second major assault on the capital within a week as NATO leaders prepared to meet for a key summit.
The latest bombardment came only days after another Russian strike claimed more than 30 lives in Kyiv.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the assault, describing it as a “brutal strike” and accusing Moscow of maintaining its strategy of inflicting maximum suffering on civilians and damaging the country.
In the northeastern Sumy region, local military authorities reported that two people were killed in separate Russian drone attacks.
Zelensky, who is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in Turkey, urged allied nations to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence capabilities, particularly against Russian ballistic missiles.
According to him, Ukraine has been successful in intercepting drones and cruise missiles but still lacks sufficient systems capable of stopping ballistic missile attacks.
“It is unacceptable that the world has not yet produced enough defensive systems to shield civilians from ballistic missile terror,” Zelensky said, expressing hope that NATO leaders would make concrete decisions on Ukraine’s air defence during the summit.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, speaking in Ankara, reiterated the alliance’s commitment, stressing that NATO members and partner countries must continue providing Ukraine with the support it requires.
The strikes left widespread destruction across Kyiv, with one missile tearing through a multi-storey residential building in the Podilsky district, splitting sections of the structure apart.
Residents reported hearing repeated explosions overnight as air raid sirens sounded across the capital during the ballistic missile attack.
Authorities confirmed that 18 people were killed in Kyiv, while another eight lost their lives in the nearby town of Vyshneve. More than 100 others sustained injuries.
Officials said Russia launched 68 missiles alongside 351 attack drones during the assault.
Additional attacks also claimed two lives in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Emergency workers spent hours searching through the rubble of collapsed apartment buildings, recovering victims as grieving relatives watched nearby.
One resident, 60-year-old Oleksandr Kolomiyets, said the devastation left him with no option but to pray.
Another survivor, Anna Misko, who had recently returned to Ukraine, said she and her child escaped death “by a miracle” after moving to the ground floor moments before the building was hit.
“There is nowhere safe in Ukraine,” she lamented, accusing Russia of trying to destroy the country.
Russia’s Defence Ministry, however, said the operation targeted military-industrial facilities as well as fuel and energy infrastructure across several Ukrainian regions.
Kyiv officials disclosed that nearly 30 residential buildings suffered damage during the attacks, while about 500 residents were evacuated from Vyshneve.
Zelensky noted that rescue operations in the town had been complicated by a secondary explosion and called on security agencies to determine its cause.
As Ukraine dealt with the aftermath of the strikes, its military announced it had carried out a long-range drone attack on an oil refinery in Russia’s Omsk region, roughly 2,500 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
Zelensky said the operation was conducted using upgraded Ukrainian-made Fire Point long-range drones, declaring that even Siberia was now within the reach of Ukraine’s precision strikes.
Ukraine’s military claimed the refinery was supplying fuel to Russian occupation forces.
Omsk Governor confirmed the drone attack on the facility but said there were no casualties.
Meanwhile, Russia’s military stated that its air defences intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Efforts led by the United States to negotiate an end to the war have yet to produce a breakthrough.
The White House confirmed that President Trump is scheduled to meet Zelensky on Wednesday during the NATO summit to discuss possible steps toward ending the conflict.
A senior U.S. official said the meeting would focus on advancing peace efforts and that Trump also intended to continue discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
AFP
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