Russia has attacked Ukraine with ballistic missiles and drones, killing at least 17 people, as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said interceptors “could have saved lives”.
In one of the deadliest strikes on Kyiv and the capital region this year – which started after midnight on Wednesday – at least 45 people were injured after residential buildings, a railway station and warehouses were hit.
Ukraine, who has consistently urged allies for more US-made Patriot missile interceptors to defend against Russian ballistics, has not reported intercepting any of the missiles in the overnight attack.
Zelensky added delays in receiving anti-ballistic systems from partners leads to “horrific casualties and destruction”.
The president later said the supply of interceptors from allies had been “significantly reduced” this year.
The Russia defence ministry said it had struck logistics hubs and supply centres in Kyiv and the surrounding region.
“These centres were involved in the storage, delivery of various weapons and military supplies, as well as in the production and distribution of unmanned aerial vehicles,” it said.
It also said it had hit three cargo vessels “which were transporting weapons and military equipment” near the Black Sea port of Odesa.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there were fears people could be trapped under rubble.
Ukraine’s emergency services said one person had died in the city of Kyiv and at least 16 injured, with a further 16 dead and 29 injured in the wider region.
Fires were still being extinguished in five locations across the region on Wednesday, covering an area of approximately 230,000 sq m, it added.
The country’s air force said in a post on Telegram that Russia had launched 24 ballistic missiles and four anti-ship missiles during the attack on the capital.
The air force added that 115 drones had been launched by Russia during the attack and air defence systems intercepted 98 of them.
There have also been reports from regional governors in the last 24 hours of Russian attacks across other parts of the country, including the Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions.
Russia has intensified attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, while Ukraine has also increased its attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure, including power facilities.
Dmitry Milyaev, the governor of Russia’s Tula region, said on Wednesday that a drone had crashed into a warehouse of e-commerce giant Wildberries in the region overnight and caused a fire.
0:30Huge flames billow from Russian Wildberries warehouse after drone strike
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted warehouses, including those operated by Wildberries. Five people were killed and 10 wounded in the Moscow region on Tuesday morning in the most recent strikes on warehouses.
The day before, Russian officials said seven people were killed and 58 injured after a drone hit a busy beach in the southern Krasnodar region.
Ukraine, meanwhile, expressed outrage over a video showing a man chased by a drone in Kherson, calling it a deliberate “hunt” and “safari” targeting civilians.
Both sides have denied deliberately targeting civilians.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday the EU had received €1.4bn (£1.2bn) from immobilised Russian assets, which would be used to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.
