Russia launched drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv early Tuesday, marking the fifth major attack on the Ukrainian capital so far this month as Moscow intensifies its air campaign against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the overnight strikes damaged 16 sites in Kyiv, including a school and a business. City officials also reported several fires across the capital.
According to Zelenskyy, Russia launched 135 drones and 10 missiles of different types, most of them ballistic, against Ukrainian cities and communities. He said Russia also targeted critical infrastructure in central and southern Ukraine.
The attacks injured seven people in the eastern Kharkiv region and three others in the northern Chernihiv region, Zelenskyy said.
“There must be greater pressure on Russia,” he wrote on X, urging European allies to approve their latest sanctions package this week.
Ukraine’s air force said its air defence units shot down five of the eight ballistic missiles fired overnight and intercepted 108 of the 135 drones. The interception rate was higher than in several earlier attacks this month, when Ukraine struggled to stop Russian ballistic missiles.
Russia has stepped up near-nightly attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure this summer, while Kyiv faces pressure on its air defence supplies.
Ukraine has also intensified drone strikes inside Russia, targeting weapons production sites, oil facilities and shipping routes as part of an effort to weaken Moscow’s ability to sustain the war.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Russia accused Ukraine of terrorism over escalating attacks on shipping in the Sea of Azov, a route that handles about a quarter of Russia’s grain exports.
Ukraine’s drone forces commander, Robert Brovdi, said Ukrainian drones hit 11 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov overnight, including five tankers, five dry cargo vessels and a tugboat. He said the strikes brought the total number of vessels hit in the past nine days to 116.
