Russian attacks across Ukraine kill nine as Kyiv seeks more air-defence support
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- Russian forces launched 70+ missiles and 280+ drones overnight across 10 Ukrainian regions, killing at least 8 civilians including children aged 6, 11, and 17 in Kryvyi Rih, with more than 50 injured.
- NATO scrambled F-16s and other aircraft after a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace and crashed in a Lublin province farming area, with Secretary-General Mark Rutte calling it "yet another reckless act by Russia."
- More than 56,000 Kyiv residents sheltered overnight in subway stations as ballistic missiles struck the capital, killing a 31-year-old man, while angry locals gathered at a school demanding a shelter that was supposed to open last year.
- Zelensky had met with Trump two days earlier pleading for swifter Patriot deliveries, noting that the Iran war has drained U.S.-made interceptor stockpiles needed to stop Russia's ballistic missiles.
- Ukraine's drone units struck three Wildberries warehouse depots in Penza, Sarapul, and Perm regions, bringing to 14 the number of the retailer's facilities hit in under two weeks, and destroyed four more Russian "shadow fleet" tankers.
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the airspace violation "a very serious incident" but said there were "absolutely no reasons to believe that Poland was the target."
Why it matters: Russia's overnight barrage killed Ukrainian civilians and sent a cruise missile into NATO-member Poland, forcing the alliance to scramble warplanes. With Patriot stockpiles drained by the Iran war and Russia explicitly exploiting Kyiv's interceptor shortage, Zelensky's push for swifter U.S. deliveries is now tied directly to broader European security.
