Russian strikes kill 11 in Kyiv area before NATO summit
Ukrainian authorities said Russia hit Kyiv with missiles and drones, damaging homes as leaders prepared to meet in Ankara.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
Russian missile and drone attacks killed at least 11 people in and around Kyiv early Monday, Ukrainian authorities said, days before NATO leaders were set to gather in Turkiye. The strikes put renewed pressure on Ukraine’s air defenses after another deadly assault on the capital last week.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said at least 10 people were killed in the city and 46 others were wounded. Authorities said one more person died and 10 were injured in areas surrounding the capital.
Ukraine’s military said Russia launched 68 missiles and 351 drones overnight. The Kyiv Independent reported that the first blasts in Kyiv were heard at about 1:40 a.m. local time, with further explosions at around 2:10 a.m. and 3:15 a.m.
Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine, and thousands of residents went into underground shelters, the Kyiv Independent reported. Tkachenko said rescue teams were working at several sites in the capital and warned that casualty figures could change.
At least 15 buildings were damaged in Kyiv, according to Tkachenko. He said four of them were in Podilskyi, a historic district of the capital.
“Unfortunately, this is not the final information,” Tkachenko told reporters as the reported death toll in Kyiv rose from seven to nine before later reaching at least 10.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned Sunday night that Russia could launch another large attack ahead of this week’s NATO summit in Turkiye. The summit is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Ankara, and Zelenskyy is expected to meet United States President Donald Trump on its sidelines.
“Intelligence once again indicates that the Russians are preparing a new massive strike,” Zelenskyy said, according to the Kyiv Independent. “This is typical of Putin: right after America’s Independence Day and before the NATO summit in Ankara.”
Russia also struck Kyiv late last week with dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones, killing 31 people, according to the report. Those attacks were described as the deadliest to hit the Ukrainian capital this year.
Both Russia and Ukraine have increased their use of long-range weapons, including missiles, during the four-year war, according to the report. Ukraine has directed attacks at Russian energy facilities in an effort to weaken Moscow’s war effort.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Russian-controlled Sevastopol in Crimea, said Monday that a Ukrainian attack near the Black Sea port had disrupted power supplies. “Following an enemy attack on energy infrastructure near Sevastopol, our city was temporarily left without electricity,” Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.