At least 14 people have been killed in a widespread Russian aerial assault across Ukraine, with strikes reported from the capital Kyiv to the western city of Lviv, a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Moscow could be preparing a major attack.
The overnight barrage struck several regions, damaging residential buildings and other infrastructure. The attacks affected Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Lviv, underlining the continuing reach of Russia’s long-range missile and drone campaign against Ukraine.
The deadliest strike was reported in Kryvyi Rih, President Zelenskyy’s hometown. A Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile hit the city, killing six people, including two children, and injuring eight others. The attack added to the growing toll from a wave of strikes that Ukrainian authorities said had targeted multiple locations.
Six people were also reported killed in the Dnipropetrovsk region, while one person died in Kyiv and another in Poltava. In Lviv, near Ukraine’s border with Poland, a missile strike damaged two residential buildings and left 26 people injured. The proximity of the attack to NATO territory prompted Poland to deploy fighter aircraft as a precautionary measure to safeguard its airspace and strengthen regional security.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had struck Ukrainian military targets stretching from Kyiv to Lviv. Moscow also claimed that three cargo vessels carrying weapons near the port of Odesa had been attacked. The claims could not be independently verified.
The latest strikes came as Ukraine continues to press its allies for stronger air-defence capabilities. After returning from a visit to the United States, Zelenskyy said on social media that securing additional air-defence systems from international partners was essential to protecting Ukrainian civilians from Russian missile and drone attacks.
The issue of air defence has become increasingly urgent as Ukraine attempts to shield major cities and critical infrastructure from repeated bombardments. Advanced systems such as the US-made Patriot have been among Kyiv’s most sought-after military assets because of their ability to intercept certain types of ballistic and cruise missiles.
During a meeting in Washington, US President Donald Trump reportedly agreed to allow Ukraine to obtain a licence to produce Patriot missiles. The development comes amid heightened pressure on Western stocks of air-defence interceptors, particularly PAC-3 missiles, following the military confrontation involving the United States, Israel and Iran. The increased demand for such systems has raised concerns about the availability of interceptors for Ukraine as the war continues.
The escalation was accompanied by a separate Ukrainian drone attack inside Russia. Earlier the same day, a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, one of Russia’s largest online retailers, caught fire in the city of Penza following a reported drone strike. Zelenskyy accused the company of supplying equipment to the Russian military, an allegation Moscow has rejected.
The latest exchange of attacks reflects the increasingly broad nature of the conflict, with both sides striking targets far beyond the immediate front lines. While Russia continues to launch large-scale missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities, Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones to target military, industrial and logistical facilities inside Russian territory.
The attacks come amid continued international efforts to address the war, but the latest violence demonstrates the persistent difficulty of reducing the intensity of hostilities. For civilians across Ukraine, the repeated air raids remain a daily threat, while the country’s dependence on advanced air-defence systems continues to shape its military and diplomatic priorities.
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