Russian strikes killed 16 people and injured more than 40 in Kyiv and the surrounding region on Thursday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a failure by Ukraine’s allies to replenish its stock of air defense missiles was costing lives.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched dozens of missiles and 168 drones in the overnight attack.
The air force said that nearly 90% of the drones and most of the cruise missiles were downed. It did not specify how many ballistic missiles were launched and whether any were intercepted.
The upper floors of a nine-story residential block were destroyed in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, where the majority of the 15 deaths in the capital occurred, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He called for Friday to be observed as a day of mourning.
Two other districts suffered damage, Klitschko said, with a school and a children’s hospital hit as well as non-residential facilities and warehouses.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it attacked Kyiv and the surrounding region, hitting facilities producing drone components, a military depot and a logistics hub, as well as other targets.
The Russian strikes also targeted the Black Sea region of Odesa, where repeated attacks on port infrastructure and ships have brought Ukraine’s vital agricultural exports to a virtual halt in recent weeks, pressuring global food prices.
Meanwhile, in Russia, authorities in the republic of Tatarstan said several people were injured and homes were damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack. They also said work was disrupted at an industrial site but did not provide further details.
As Russia has escalated its ballistic strikes in recent months, Zelensky has pleaded with allies to replenish Ukraine’s stock of Patriot interceptors — the only weapon in its arsenal capable of downing a ballistic missile.
“The interceptors for Patriot systems have not yet been replaced, and they are needed every day,” Zelensky wrote in a post on Telegram on Thursday. “Each additional missile saves the lives of our people.”
Reuters contributed reporting.
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