Zelensky says partners gave no warning before five-missile strike on Kyiv

Missile strike on civilian infrastructure

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X that Russia had attacked Ukraine with more than 100 weapons, including drones, loitering munitions and ballistic missiles, from Monday evening, 12 October, until the time of his post. He said five ballistic missiles hit civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and that Ukraine had received no warning from its partners about this attack. Zelensky wrote on Telegram that intelligence on Russian ballistic missile launches helps save lives, and that an early warning about such missiles helps prevent fatalities. The posts were published on 13 October, a day after the strikes.

Drone strike on a Kyiv residential tower

Kyiv prosecutors said through Telegram that the target of an attack was a 25-storey residential building. According to Reuters, the body of one of the victims was found in a car parked beside the building. Prosecutors said seven people were injured in the attack. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko put the number of injured at 11, three of whom were taken to hospital. The two figures were given by different officials and have not been reconciled in the reporting.

Kremlin response and the call for pressure

Zelensky said Russia had answered an American proposal with Shahed drones aimed at Kyiv. He said Russia was continuing its terror against the Ukrainian people by striking residential buildings and killing people. He called on the United States to take notice of these signals from Russia and react firmly, arguing that Russia must be placed under stronger pressure to end the war. Reuters noted that Russian attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, previously carried out mainly at night, now disrupt daily life almost around the clock.