Russia Pounds Kyiv With 41 Missiles, 125 Drones
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- Russia launched 41 missiles and 125 drones across Ukraine overnight, killing one and wounding 16 in Kyiv, with 25 of the missiles being ballistic, per the Ukrainian air force.
- Ukraine intercepted 108 drones and 18 missiles, and shot down at least 17 ballistic missiles — a marked improvement over an earlier attack this month when Ukraine failed to intercept any ballistic missiles, suggesting partial Patriot stockpile replenishment.
- President Zelenskyy said most missiles targeted Kyiv, where strikes ignited fires in five districts, damaging residential buildings, an office, an industrial site, a dormitory, and vehicles.
- Russia's defense ministry claimed the Kyiv strikes hit plants producing Flamingo drones and Neptune guided missile parts, plus a postal terminal "used for storing dual-use goods and assembling drones, robotic systems and electronic warfare equipment."
- Viktoria Shejko, 32, sheltering in her apartment corridor with seven children and her husband, said ballistic strikes on Kyiv have shifted from once a week to "if not every day, then every other day."
- Trump said he is prepared to grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot interceptor missiles — Kyiv's only effective defense against Russian ballistic missiles — though the timeline and details remain unclear.
Why it matters: Ukraine intercepted 17 ballistic missiles in this attack after failing to intercept any in a prior strike earlier this month, a turnaround that suggests partial Patriot restocking — but Zelenskyy's urgent request for production licenses shows Kyiv remains structurally dependent on U.S. decisions to keep its capital defensible against Russia's accelerating nightly barrages.
