Russian missile attacks on Ukraine kill six, expose air defence limits
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- Russia fired 41 missiles and 125 drones at Ukrainian cities overnight, with most missiles targeting Kyiv starting around 1:30 a.m. and continuing for hours, sparking fires in five districts including residential buildings and a dormitory, according to the Ukrainian air force.
- The Russian strikes killed at least six people and wounded dozens, including a postal facility attack near Kharkiv that killed three and wounded at least 20, plus guided bomb strikes on Kherson and Sumy that each left at least one person dead.
- Moscow has escalated its use of ballistic missiles in recent weeks as Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil infrastructure have caused critical fuel shortages affecting both Russia's military and civilian population.
- Ukraine struck two oil tankers — the ASIA and NISSOS, flagged by Liberia and the Marshall Islands — at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal off Novorossiysk, halting loadings at a site that handles about 80% of Kazakhstan's crude exports.
- Zelensky announced Ukrainian Security Service units struck three oil depots in Russia's Stavropol region, while a separate army unit hit another fuel facility there and three Russian tankers were struck in the Black Sea.
- Trump said he is prepared to grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot air defense systems — the most effective means of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles — though details and timeline remain unclear and full production could take years.
Why it matters: The escalation is now hitting both sides' energy and civilian infrastructure simultaneously. Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil tankers and depots appear to be triggering Moscow's escalation in ballistic missile use against Kyiv, but Trump's promised Patriot production licenses — the only effective counter — won't materialize for years, leaving Ukraine's near-term air defense gap exposed.
