Russian strikes kill 28 in Ukraine

KYIV: Russia launched a large missile and drone assault on Ukraine early on Monday, killing at least 28 people, while Ukrainian officials said the attack underlined a worsening shortage of US-made air defence interceptors.

The overnight bombardment hit just days after what was described as the deadliest attack on Kyiv this year, and came ahead of a NATO summit in Turkey starting on Tuesday, where US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as part of a renewed peace push.

According to Ukrainian air force data, Russia fired 23 ballistic missiles during the attack and Ukraine was unable to shoot down any of them. The same data showed that Ukraine brought down 37 other missiles and more than 90% of the 351 drones used in the assault. Air force figures for July show Ukrainian defences intercepted only four of 49 ballistic missiles, highlighting the pressure on the country’s Patriot missile stocks.

Zelenskiy has repeatedly appealed for more interceptors, saying Patriots are the only systems in Ukraine’s arsenal capable of stopping ballistic missiles. In his nightly video address, he said production levels remained inadequate for protecting civilians from ballistic attacks. He also said Ukraine had the expertise to manufacture the weapons and that, if it received US licences to produce Patriot systems, domestic output could help defend both Ukraine and partner countries.

In a post on X, Zelenskiy called for stronger decisions at the NATO summit and said allied stockpiles should be used to help Ukraine defend residential areas from Russian strikes.

"As long as Patriot missiles sit in our allies' stockpiles, Russia is only encouraged to keep destroying residential buildings. The U.S. and Europe have the power to stop this terror," he wrote.

Casualties and damage

Ukraine’s Emergency Services said at least 16 people were killed in Kyiv as rescue teams continued searching through the debris of a high-rise building torn open in the attack. Prosecutors said another 10 people were killed in the broader Kyiv region.

Emergency Services also reported repeated explosions and damage to numerous residential buildings in Vyshneve, outside the capital. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said nearly 30 buildings in Kyiv were heavily damaged.

Later on Monday, the governor of the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region said a drone strike on a filling station killed two more people, bringing the reported nationwide death toll to at least 28.

Search operations continued into the afternoon in Kyiv, where crews worked through piles of rubble and twisted metal at the multi-storey residential block. Reuters footage showed what appeared to be human remains trapped under concrete on an upper floor. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the bodies of an entire family — two parents and a child — were recovered from the site.

Alyona, 22, said she was waiting for news of her 19-year-old friend Vika, who was missing after the strike. "We're sitting here and waiting until they retrieve them.. She's so kind, only 19 years old. She's such a kind girl," she said.

Monday’s attack followed another strike on Kyiv last Thursday that killed 31 people.

Russia and Ukraine report further strikes

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had carried out a massive strike on Kyiv and other locations using long-range precision weapons launched from the air, land and sea, as well as drones. Military and energy facilities were hit in Kyiv and the surrounding region, along with military airfields in several other parts of Ukraine.

Moscow has intensified its air campaign this year even as progress on the battlefield has slowed sharply. Ukrainian long-range attacks on Russian military logistics and the oil industry had hampered Russian operations, while Ukraine had also regained territory in some sectors of the 1,200-km frontline despite Russian advances near the strategically important eastern city of Kostiantynivka.

Zelenskiy on Saturday rejected a Russian claim that Kostiantynivka had been captured. On Monday, Kyiv’s military said it had struck three Russian oil refineries, including the country’s largest refinery in Omsk, more than 2,414 km away, as well as two shadow fleet vessels in the Sea of Azov. Zelenskiy described the Omsk strike as an important achievement for Ukraine’s military.