Russia Pounds Kyiv In Deadly Missile Barrage As Ukraine Seeks More Air Defenses

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russia launched one of its largest combined missile and drone assaults on Ukraine’s capital early Monday, killing at least 15 people in Kyiv and wounding 77 others across the country, Ukrainian officials said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to urge NATO, the Western military alliance, to provide additional air-defense systems.

The attacks also killed six people elsewhere in the Kyiv region, bringing the nationwide death toll to 21, with rescuers warning the number could rise further as they searched collapsed apartment buildings, according to officials.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said rescue workers were searching for survivors trapped beneath the rubble of heavily damaged apartment buildings, particularly in the city’s historic Podil district, where sections of a residential high-rise collapsed.

The latest bombardment came just days after another major Russian strike killed dozens in Kyiv, underscoring the growing intensity of Moscow’s aerial campaign against the Ukrainian capital.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 68 missiles and 351 drones in one of the largest aerial assaults of the war. Officials said Ukrainian forces shot down or otherwise neutralized 37 missiles and 326 drones, but failed to intercept any of the ballistic missiles, highlighting Ukraine’s growing shortage of U.S.-made Patriot interceptor systems.

AIR DEFENSES STRAINED

The figures underscored Ukraine’s urgent need for additional Patriot interceptor missiles, currently the country’s most effective defense against Russian ballistic missiles, observers said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained that the attack demonstrated the urgent need for additional Western military assistance.

“As long as Patriot missiles remain in our allies’ stockpiles, Russia is encouraged to continue this terror,” Zelenskyy stressed, urging the United States and European partners to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Union’s executive European Commission, echoed those concerns, saying Ukraine “urgently needs more air defense.”

NATO SUMMIT FOCUS

She said the issue would be discussed during this week’s NATO summit in Ankara, where Zelenskyy is expected to meet U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

Kyiv military administration chief Tymur Tkachenko noted that residential buildings in both the Podilskyi and Darnytsia districts suffered direct hits.

“These are residential buildings. Places where people slept and lived their ordinary lives,” he said.

Several residents were believed to remain trapped beneath collapsed structures as emergency crews worked through the debris.

Outside the capital, Kyiv regional Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said another person was killed and 10 others wounded in Bucha.

CIVILIANS UNDER FIRE

Monday’s assault followed one of the deadliest attacks on Kyiv this year, when a Russian strike last Thursday killed dozens of people and prompted city authorities to declare a day of mourning.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Monday’s strikes targeted Ukrainian military-industrial facilities producing drones, missiles, armored vehicles, air-defense equipment, and energy infrastructure. Those claims could not be independently verified.

At the same time, Ukraine said it carried out long-range drone strikes against three Russian oil refineries and an oil terminal in the Baltic Sea port of Vysotsk.

Russian authorities confirmed Ukrainian drone attacks damaged facilities at Vysotsk and the nearby Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga.

Officials in Russian-occupied Crimea reported temporary power outages, including in the naval city of Sevastopol, after what they described as an “external impact.” Electricity was later restored using backup systems.

WAR’S STAGGERING TOLL

Russia also said its air defenses shot down more than 500 Ukrainian drones overnight, while regional officials reported limited damage and injuries in several areas.

More than four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the conflict remains Europe’s deadliest war since World War II.

The latest attacks came as a new study highlighted the staggering human cost of the war. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated that combined Russian and Ukrainian military casualties—including those killed, wounded, and missing—have now surpassed 2 million.

The study estimated Russia has suffered about 1.4 million military casualties, including roughly 400,000 to 450,000 deaths, while Ukraine has sustained an estimated 525,000 to 625,000 military casualties, including 125,000 to 150,000 fatalities. The estimates underscore the enormous toll of a conflict that has entered its fifth year with no sign of a negotiated settlement.

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv regularly publishes comprehensive military casualty figures, and the estimates could not be independently verified. According to the United Nations, more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have also been killed since the war began, although the actual civilian toll is believed to be significantly higher.

Analysts say Russia is increasingly exploiting weaknesses in Ukraine’s air defenses, particularly shortages of Patriot interceptor missiles, while Ukraine continues to rely on increasingly sophisticated long-range drone strikes to target Russian military and energy infrastructure far behind the front lines.

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