At least 13 killed in Kyiv as Ukraine grapples with air defence shortages
Kyiv Hit by Overnight Barrage as Missile-Defence Gap Deepens
Ninoda.com – Ukraine's prime minister confirmed that at least 13 civilians were killed and another 40 wounded when Russian forces launched a fresh wave of strikes on the capital overnight. Apartment buildings, warehouses, a children's hospital, and a school all sustained damage across the city, according to the State Emergency Service.
President Volodymyr Zelensky attributed the deaths directly to a critical shortfall in air-defence interceptors, weapons that Kyiv depends on Western partners to deliver. In a post on Telegram, he warned that "as long as Ukraine does not have enough anti-ballistics, Russia will not seriously think about peace," adding that Patriot interceptor rounds had not yet been replenished and were needed daily. "Each additional missile saves the lives of our people," he wrote.
Civilians Left Exposed
Mayor Vitali Klitschko visited the Solomianskyi district to survey the wreckage, where emergency crews were still combing through collapsed concrete and residents stood outside ruined doorways. Addressing BBC News amid the debris, he stated that Ukraine required "ammunition, anti-missile systems – we need support from our partners."
Among those displaced was Valeria Bondaruk, who had relocated to Kyiv after her previous home in southern Ukraine was bombed, hoping the capital would offer greater safety for herself and her daughter. The overnight attack forced her from her apartment for a second time during the conflict. A fragment of glass lodged in her bedroom wall marked how close the blast had come. With no underground shelter available, she spent the night hiding in a hallway. She told the BBC that she now fears for the future of her 13-year-old daughter and is weighing the option of leaving the country entirely.
Anastasiia Kovtun, a 31-year-old primary-school teacher, sat beside her partner at the foot of the rubble where her flat had stood within a nine-storey residential block. Describing the moment the explosions struck her neighbourhood, she said she felt her "head was going to blow" while sheltering. "It's so frightening to realise it's your house, you never think you're going to be next," she told the BBC. Asked whether she might ever return to the apartment, she replied: "Even if were able to move back in, we wouldn't want it after this. If we stayed in the flat for ten minutes more we might have been killed." She said she needed time to "process" what had happened.
Political Pressure Mounts
Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko told the BBC that the country is "absolutely unprotected" against ballistic-missile attacks and "can't do anything" without interceptor rounds. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he added: "Russia is using this trying to destroy as much infrastructure as possible. For us it's very painful because we are dying here every day without these interceptors."
Zelensky's renewed appeal for additional military aid arrived amid a direct political challenge from Mykhailo Fedorov, the popular former defence minister, who has called for an election and accused the government of corruption that has stripped the armed forces of needed weaponry.
Military Details and Wider Impact
The barrage began around midnight local time, when air-raid sirens swept across Kyiv and roughly 20 Russian missiles struck targets in the city. Thousands of properties lost electricity, plunging sections of the Kyiv region into darkness. A day of mourning was declared for Friday in honour of those killed.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia deployed 168 drones and 44 missiles in the operation, primarily aimed at Kyiv. Air-defence units shot down 146 drones and 39 cruise missiles. A separate update released Thursday morning indicated that none of the ballistic missiles fired overnight were intercepted.
The Russian defence ministry claimed it employed air-, land-, and sea-based weapons against military installations and warehouses. It also stated that 726 Ukrainian drones had been downed after launches at various Russian regions.
Ukraine has depended heavily on American Patriot interceptor missiles to counter Russian ballistic threats, but Washington has drawn down much of its own stockpile during the Middle East war and has been delivering fewer rounds to Kyiv.
Beyond the capital, an attack on the Brovary and Boryspil districts killed one man and wounded seven. In Donetsk Oblast, a local official reported one fatality and 11 injuries.
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