Russia strikes Kyiv for third time in a week, injuring two, as Zelensky renews NATO bid at Ankara summit
Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv early Wednesday, triggering fires and injuring two people, the third such assault on the capital in a week. The attack came as President Zelensky renewed his call for NATO membership at the alliance's summit in Ankara.
Kyiv under fire
Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv in the early hours of Wednesday, triggering fires in two districts on opposite banks of the Dnipro River. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that a storage area and a non-residential building were ablaze, and two people were injured, one requiring hospital treatment. The air raid alert lasted about an hour. AFP journalists in the city heard a first large blast before sirens sounded, followed by four more explosions.
The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic missiles. Stay in shelters!
The strike is the third large-scale assault on the Ukrainian capital in less than a week, following a deadly barrage on Monday and a missile attack on Odesa on Tuesday evening. Ukraine's air defences have struggled to intercept ballistic missiles, even as they successfully counter large-scale drone attacks, a challenge Zelensky highlighted in Ankara.
- Russian strikes kill 30 people across Ukraine, including multiple missile hits on Kyiv
- Ballistic missile with cluster munition warhead strikes Odesa, injuring 9-10 people
- Ballistic missiles hit Kyiv for third time in a week, causing fires and injuring two
Odesa hit with cluster munitions
Hours earlier, a Russian ballistic missile carrying a cluster munition warhead struck the southern port city of Odesa. Regional governor Oleh Kiper said the attack injured 9 people, all of whom were hospitalised, and set a building and several cars on fire. Reuters reported 10 injured, with 8 hospitalised.
Once again, cynically ignoring the norms of international humanitarian law, the Russian army struck the civilian region of Odesa, using a ballistic missile with a cluster munition warhead.
Monday's deadly strikes
On Monday, Russian strikes across Ukraine killed 30 people, according to Deutsche Welle and RTE, including multiple missile hits on Kyiv. Al Jazeera put the death toll at least 14. The attacks damaged a dozen buildings in the capital, part of an intensifying Russian campaign against Ukrainian cities.
Zelensky's NATO push in Ankara
The latest exchange of fire coincided with the opening of NATO's annual summit in Ankara, Turkey. President Volodymyr Zelensky, attending the two-day gathering, renewed his call for Ukraine to join the military alliance and urged allies to urgently ramp up production of anti-ballistic missile systems. He also signed new defence agreements with Estonia, the Netherlands, and Denmark, which he said would create opportunities for joint production and technology exchange.
Ukraine belongs in NATO.
Zelensky was expected to meet Donald Trump later on Wednesday.
Widening the battlefield
Both sides have expanded their use of long-range weapons. On Tuesday, Ukrainian drones attacked a dozen tankers from Russia's "shadow fleet" delivering fuel to Crimea, striking eight sanctioned vessels in the Sea of Azov, each with a deadweight of around 7,000 metric tons, and hitting two more later in the day. Kyiv's military also targeted electrical substations, radar systems, and missile installations. The Sea of Azov is a key supply route for Russian forces in occupied southern Ukraine.
