Russia Launches Major Ballistic Missile Attack on Kyiv, Killing at Least One

The attack began at approximately 1:30 a.m. local time on Sunday and continued for several hours, with explosions echoing across Kyiv, according to NPR, which cited the Associated Press. Fires broke out in five districts of the city, damaging residential buildings, office and industrial sites, a dormitory, and vehicles, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported. Rescue workers pulled four people from a burning private home in the Sviatoshynskyi district and evacuated residents from a burning three-story building in the Shevchenkivskyi district.

Russia's defense ministry stated that the attack targeted sites linked to Ukraine's military, including plants it said were producing Flamingo drones and components for Neptune guided missiles, as well as a postal terminal it described as being used to store dual-use goods and assemble drones, robotic systems, and electronic warfare equipment, according to NPR.

The strike occurred in the context of Ukraine facing a shortage of Patriot air defense interceptor missiles, which officials and coverage described as the most effective means of countering Russian ballistic missiles. NPR reported that Ukraine intercepted at least 17 ballistic missiles in this attack, suggesting some replenishment of interceptor stocks; during a major Russian attack earlier this month, Ukraine was unable to intercept any ballistic missiles. A Kyiv resident, Viktoria Shejko, 32, described to the Associated Press sheltering in a corridor with her seven children and husband, saying ballistic missile attacks had become markedly more frequent — "if not every day, then every other day."