Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Kyiv in the early hours of Monday, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens more as residential buildings across the Ukrainian capital were struck, trapping civilians under rubble and forcing emergency evacuations.
The assault marks one of the deadliest strikes on Kyiv in recent weeks, coming just days after another deadly attack on the capital. Emergency services worked through the night to pull survivors from the wreckage of damaged residential buildings as fires broke out across multiple districts.
The timing of the attack is particularly significant, falling on the eve of the NATO Summit in Ankara, where US President Donald Trump is expected to attend alongside leaders of the Western alliance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky swiftly condemned the strikes, accusing Moscow of deliberately escalating its bombardment of civilian areas in the days leading up to the summit in a calculated bid to apply pressure on Ukraine’s Western allies.
Zelensky renewed urgent calls for additional Patriot air defence systems, warning that without greater air defence capability, Ukraine’s cities remain acutely vulnerable to Russian aerial attacks. Russia, meanwhile, claimed the strikes had targeted military-industrial and energy facilities, the standard justification Moscow offers for attacks that repeatedly kill civilians and destroy residential infrastructure.
The strike adds renewed urgency to discussions expected at the NATO summit, where Ukraine’s air defence needs, continued military aid, and the broader trajectory of the war are set to dominate the agenda. Western leaders face mounting pressure to respond decisively as Russia intensifies its aerial campaign against Ukrainian population centres.
