A wave of Russian missile attacks on Kyiv and its surrounding region overnight killed at least 17 people and wounded 44, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.
The attacks began after midnight, with air raid sirens sounding across the capital for more than an hour. Ukraine's air force had earlier warned that ballistic missiles were incoming.
According to an air force report, Ukraine was unable to shoot down a single Russian missile during the overnight assault, which involved 115 drones and 28 high-speed missiles, including ballistic ones.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said that "ballistic missile interceptors could have saved the lives of those killed today." He added that delays in supplying them or an unwillingness to provide anti-ballistic systems "lead directly to such horrific casualties and destruction."
Kyiv's military administration said seven sites in the city were hit, damaging residential buildings and warehouses. "The enemy is once again deliberately striking civilians and civilian infrastructure," it said on Telegram.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one warehouse near the city center was destroyed, and rescue teams pulled two people from the debris. "There may still be people under the rubble," he wrote. "Search and rescue operations are proceeding."
The attack also caused an ammonia leak, which emergency crews worked to contain. A large fire broke out on the edge of the city, and debris from a downed missile landed near a residential building.
Russia has struck Kyiv several times in the past month. On Saturday, strikes on the capital and its suburbs killed 10 people and wounded more than 30. That same day, Ukrainian drones sank a Russian ship in the Black Sea.
Both sides have stepped up long-range strikes in recent weeks. Russia used more than twice as many missiles in July as before, according to an analysis by the French AFP news agency. Ukraine has also increased drone attacks on Russian oil, gas, and supply sites.
On Tuesday, strikes in the Moscow region killed five people and wounded 10 others, hitting warehouses used by the Russian retailer Wildberries. Moscow's mayor said the city's air defenses shot down at least 10 drones on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy has asked allies for more Patriot missile interceptors, saying the lack of these defenses "only encourages Russia to launch such attacks that take human lives." He met with US President Donald Trump last Tuesday to lobby Washington for licenses to build Patriot systems inside Ukraine.
United Nations human rights monitors have raised concerns over increased civilian deaths in the war, which are now at their highest level since Russia's invasion began in February 2022.
Russia and Ukraine both deny targeting civilians in the war.
Source: www.dw.com