Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his plea for Western air defenses following a deadly overnight Russian attack, which saw only one of 27 ballistic missiles shot down. At least nine people were killed and 30 wounded in the latest attack on Ukraine, including four children, with strikes targeting the capital Kyiv and surrounding regions.

Russia’s Aerial Assaults

The attack is the second major Russian aerial assault in two days, with the Kremlin apparently seeking to expose Kyiv’s shortages of key defense systems as it struggles to make advances along the vast front line. Zelensky has often appealed to Western nations to provide much-needed air defense systems to protect Ukraine’s cities and critical infrastructure from aerial attacks.

The Ukrainian president has emphasized the need for US-made Patriot defense interceptor missiles, citing a shortage of these systems. Zelensky stated, “We lack missiles for the Patriot systems. And it is precisely this shortage of anti-ballistic interceptors that only encourages Russia to carry out such deadly strikes.”

International Response

US President Donald Trump expressed hesitation about allowing Ukraine to build its own Patriot missile interceptors, citing concerns about the risk that Ukraine could someday use the Patriot missile interceptors against the US. The deliberations mark a turnaround from earlier this month, when Trump suggested during the NATO summit that he would aid Ukraine’s fight against Russia by permitting them to build the Patriot systems.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.