Ukraine's Air Force has reported a critical shortage of interceptor missiles, resulting in none of the 23 ballistic missiles fired by Russia at Kyiv on Sunday night being shot down. At least 15 people were killed in the capital, with eight more fatalities in the wider Kyiv region, according to officials. This marks the second large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv within a week.
Zelensky Appeals for Air Defenses at NATO Summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on allies to make "strong decisions" at this week's NATO summit to provide Kyiv with air defenses. Following the strikes, he stated that while the Ukrainian military successfully intercepted cruise missiles and drones, ballistic missiles proved impossible to stop. In a post on X, Zelensky described Sunday's attack as a "massive Russian attack" comprising 68 missiles and 351 strike drones. The air force reported shooting down or suppressing 37 missiles and 326 drones.
Zelensky warned that Moscow would continue targeting residential buildings as long as defensive Patriot missiles "remain in our allies' stockpiles."
Destruction and Casualties in Kyiv
Residents endured another frightening night with loud explosions and the boom of air defenses. By Monday morning, widespread destruction was evident. Three large apartment blocks partially collapsed, with some directly hit by missiles. Helicopters shuttled water from the river to douse fires across the city. Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported 56 injuries in the capital, including seven children, and 48 injuries in the wider Kyiv region.
In the Podilskyi district, rescue teams worked through the ruins of an apartment block with a gaping hole through its center. Specialists used sniffer dogs to locate the missing as cranes lifted giant concrete slabs, sending bricks crashing down.
Residents' Despair and Questions
A woman crying on a bench was too distraught to speak, but a support team said two of her relatives were buried in the rubble. Residents queued to register losses with police. One woman, whose eighth-floor flat had vanished, began to speak but turned away sobbing. Olena, another resident, admitted she skipped the bomb shelter due to exhaustion before work. "After the first blast, the glass shattered and hit us, almost on our heads. Then everything was shaking," she said. "I feel like I have calmed down, but I am still trembling all over." She questioned why Ukraine failed to stop any ballistic missiles: "The missiles hit our houses, and that's terrible. Really scary. It seems we have nothing to intercept them with. So where are our partners? What's happening?"
Context and Retaliation
Hours before the strikes, Zelensky warned that Moscow was preparing a second "massive strike" following Thursday's attack that killed 30. Ukraine accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilian areas, while Russia claimed it struck military and energy bases in retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on its energy facilities. Kyiv has maintained drone attacks on Russian critical energy infrastructure, temporarily cutting power in Sevastopol, Crimea. The Ukrainian military struck three Russian oil refineries, including the country's largest in Omsk, over 2,414 km away—one of Kyiv's longest-range targets. Russia's Defense Ministry said Kyiv launched 625 long-range strike drones, of which 613 were shot down.
Reports suggest Zelensky will meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, starting Tuesday. In his X post, Zelensky stressed it was "critically important" that the US and European partners arrive with "strong decisions in support of our air defense, and thus the protection of ordinary people's lives." He added, "The United States and Europe have enough power to stop this terror."
