Four killed in Kyiv during 12-hour barrage by Russia
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Russia carried out a large-scale attack on Kyiv on Saturday night, killing at least four people and destroying several buildings in the Ukrainian capital.
The numbers: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said via X that the “savage” and “deliberate, targeted terror against ordinary cities” saw Russia fire nearly 500 attack drones and more than 40 missiles, including ballistic missiles in at attack that lasted over 12 hours.
The context: Several other regions were also targeted in the strikes by Russia, with at least 16 people injured in the city of Zaporizhzhia, according to local authorities.
Poland briefly closed part of its airspace near to two of its southeastern cities. The NATO member also scrambled jets during the attack.
Zelensky said countries that want peace “must back President Trump’s efforts and halt any Russian imports. The time for decisive action is long overdue, and we count on a strong response from the United States, Europe, the G7, and the G20.”
Responding to the overnight attacks, Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that Moscow had carried out strikes on Ukraine, claiming that it hit military airfields and other facilities. "Last night, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, sea-based weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles against enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine used in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as the infrastructure of military airfields," the ministry said.
The barrage follows a warning from Russia on Saturday, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stating that any aggression shown toward the country by NATO members will be met with a “decisive response” and that if any country downs objects still within Russian airspace, “they will very much regret it.”
The Kremlin’s warning comes after Ukraine confirmed that it had received for the first time, a US-made Patriot system from Israel to bolster its defences.
Last week German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the European Union to use frozen Russian assets to unlock an interest-free loan of EUR140 billion ($249.6 billion) loan for Kyiv, to finance the war in Ukraine.
The sources: FT, Volodymyr Zelensky X, Reuters, Bloomberg, ABC
