Kyiv faced a massive Russian strike overnight into Thursday, resulting in at least 14 fatalities and dozens of injuries, city officials reported. The assault damaged a children’s hospital in the Solomianskyi district, a school, residential blocks and several warehouses.
Local emergency crews worked through the night to rescue victims from rubble and extinguish large fires that illuminated the capital’s skyline. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed shattered windows at the hospital, while rescue workers continued to search for survivors amid the devastation.
Ukraine’s interceptor missile shortage
Ukraine has long relied on Patriot interceptor missiles supplied by the United States and other allies to defend against high‑speed ballistic missiles. President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN earlier this month that the country possesses only about 10% of the interceptors it urgently needs. He warned that this year Ukraine has “two and a half times less interceptors than we had in 2025,” while Russia is fielding twice as many ballistic missiles each month.
The shortage has left Kyiv vulnerable to the faster‑moving missiles used in the recent attack. Russian officials described the strike as “high‑precision” and said it targeted military facilities, a transport and logistics hub, and warehouses throughout the city and surrounding region.
Wider regional impact
Beyond the capital, Russian forces hit gas infrastructure in the Chernihiv region and a border crossing with Moldova in the Odesa region. Additional drone attacks and shelling were reported in the Zhytomyr, Kherson, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. Combined, the last 24 hours have brought Ukraine’s death toll to 23, with 132 more injured, according to regional military administrations.
Neighboring Romania confirmed that a Russian drone crashed in an uninhabited area of Tulcea County near the Ukrainian border, while Poland announced preventative military aviation operations to protect its own airspace during the strikes.
Ukrainian counter‑offensive
Amid the ongoing bombardment, Kyiv has intensified its own aerial campaign, launching more than 800 drones at Russian targets on Sunday, one of the largest Ukrainian drone offensives of the war. Russia’s state‑run TASS news agency called it the biggest Ukrainian drone attack since the start of the year, noting that many drones aimed at the Moscow area where Russia’s elite reside.
In response, Russia’s defense ministry reported that it intercepted and destroyed 791 Ukrainian drones overnight, claiming another major assault by Kyiv.
International response
The attacks underscore the continuing strain on Ukraine’s air‑defense capabilities and the broader challenges faced by NATO allies in supplying sufficient interceptor missiles. As the conflict persists, both humanitarian concerns and strategic considerations remain at the forefront of international discourse.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
