Russia Strikes Kyiv Overnight, One Killed After Zelenskyy Warning
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- Russia struck Kyiv with missiles at 1:18am Thursday, killing at least one person; Mayor Klitschko ordered residents to seek shelter
- Poland, a NATO member, scrambled fighter jets to secure its airspace during the Russian strikes
- Zelenskyy had warned on Wednesday that a massive Russian attack was likely, tying Ukrainians' safety directly to allies' willingness to provide anti-missile defences
- Trump agreed in a White House meeting to give Ukraine licences to manufacture Patriot surface-to-air missiles, though Kyiv remains short of PAC-3 interceptor missiles — the only systems capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles
- Ukraine's PAC-3 interceptor shortage has worsened since the US-Israel war on Iran launched in February, according to the source
- Zelenskyy spent just over an hour with Trump; Trump posted photos saying the meeting 'went very well,' as US-led peace efforts remained stalled
Why it matters: The strikes landed the same night Zelenskyy returned from Washington with only a Patriot manufacturing licence — not the PAC-3 interceptors Kyiv needs to shield its capital tonight. The source flags that Ukraine's interceptor shortage has deepened since the US-Israel war on Iran began in February, meaning every US Patriot battery tied up in the Middle East is one fewer defending Kyiv.
