Ukraine warns of interceptor missile shortage as 21 killed in Kyiv region
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- Russia fired 68 missiles and 351 strike drones at Kyiv in what Zelensky called a 'massive Russian attack,' killing at least 21 people (15 in the capital, 6 in the wider region) and injuring 56 in Kyiv including 7 children.
- Ukraine's Air Force admitted a 'serious shortage' of interceptor missiles meant none of the 23 ballistic missiles were shot down, though it intercepted 37 cruise missiles and 326 drones.
- Zelensky appealed for allies to take 'strong decisions' at this week's NATO summit in Ankara to provide air defences and is expected to meet Donald Trump on the sidelines.
- The attack partially collapsed three large apartment blocks in Kyiv, including one in the Podilskyi district where rescue teams used sniffer dogs and cranes to search for survivors in the rubble.
- The strike was the second large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv in a week, following Thursday's attacks that killed 30 people, with Moscow claiming it targeted military and energy sites in retaliation for Ukrainian strikes.
- Ukraine kept up its own drone campaign, with Russia's Defence Ministry claiming Kyiv launched 625 long-range drones (613 shot down) and temporarily cutting power in Sevastopol, Russian-occupied Crimea.
- EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine's 'urgent' need for more air defence would be discussed at the summit, adding that the US and Europe 'have enough power to stop this terror.'
Why it matters: Zelensky heads into Tuesday's NATO summit in Ankara requesting Patriot systems after Russia's ballistic missiles hit Kyiv with zero interception — the defensive gap won't close until allies deliver more interceptors, while three apartment blocks and 21 civilians bear the immediate cost of that gap.
