Nine killed in strikes on Kyiv, as Ukraine sinks Russian container ship
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- Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv on Saturday, killing at least nine and injuring dozens, with fires and power cuts across the city, according to Zelensky.
- Strikes hit multiple districts — Darnytskyi (seven killed, 14 injured including two children) and Solomyanskyi (two killed, eight injured including two children) — while a missile landed near the Lithuanian embassy, breaking windows and scattering debris.
- Ukrainian drones sank the 100,000-tonne Russian-owned container ship Yanina in the Black Sea, 130 miles from Novorossiysk; state-owned nuclear operator Rosatom confirmed all 17 crew members were rescued in satisfactory condition.
- Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev called the ship attack "piracy and robbery," saying the vessel had been carrying frozen food and construction materials — a characterization Kyiv did not address.
- The Kyiv strikes came two days after a suspected Russian cruise missile landed in Poland during a wider attack on Ukraine that killed at least eight, including six members of one family.
- Trump told a Camp David cabinet meeting the US has not agreed to let Ukraine build Patriot missiles but talks continue, calling it "a big step" and warning that recipients of advanced US weaponry "can someday turn on you."
- Zelensky followed his Washington meeting with Trump with a "good" phone call to VP JD Vance, reiterating that Patriot interceptors against ballistic missiles remain Ukraine's top priority as Russia steps up air attacks.
Why it matters: Ukraine is running low on the only weapon in its arsenal capable of downing ballistic missiles, and Zelensky is now negotiating production rights — not just deliveries — with Trump, who publicly hedged on the technology transfer at Camp David. The week's escalation (Polish missile landing, mass Kyiv strikes, retaliatory ship sinking) gives Trump leverage to condition or deny Patriot production on broader terms.
