Russia missiles pound Kyiv, kill nine as Ukraine renews Patriot plea

Russia struck Kyiv overnight with ballistic missiles and drones, killing nine civilians and injuring 22. The barrage sharpened Ukraine's demand for more Patriot interceptors as residents described mounting trauma.At least nine people were killed and 22 civilians were injured in Kyiv after Russia launched an intense overnight barrage of ballistic missiles and drones into Saturday, authorities said. The attack hit several parts of the Ukrainian capital, damaging residential and commercial buildings and setting off fires.Emergency services said rescue operations were carried out across the city as Ukraine again highlighted its need for more Patriot anti-ballistic missile defence systems. The strike came two days after another large-scale Russian missile and drone attack across Ukraine killed 10 civilians, injured more than 50 others and saw a Russian missile enter Polish airspace.In Kyiv's Solomianskyi district, a five-storey residential building was damaged by falling debris and a fire broke out. Ukraine's state emergency service said rescue workers evacuated 35 people from the upper floors. Two people were killed and eight were reported injured, including two children.In the Darnytskyi district, seven people were killed and another 14 were injured. Emergency services said the attack caused fires and damage to houses, vehicles, an administrative building and a non-residential building. Elsewhere in the capital, emergency workers put out a fire in a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district. There was no further information on earlier reports by the district mayor that people were trapped in another residential building. Damage to commercial and residential buildings was also reported in two other city districts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing the United States and other Western partners for more Patriot anti-ballistic missile defence systems to counter Russian missile attacks. Late on Friday, Zelenskyy said he had spoken to US Vice President JD Vance and discussed a meeting with President Donald Trump earlier this week in Washington, which he described as "positive and productive". "The Russian air strikes on our country continue and air defense, specifically interceptors for Patriot systems against ballistic missiles, remains a top priority," Zelenskyy said on Telegram.At a NATO summit in Ankara in July, Trump said the US would give Ukraine a licence to make Patriot systems. But during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, on Friday, he appeared to step back from that position, saying he had not yet made a final decision on the matter. From a basement shelter, where she had taken cover as a second air alarm sounded for another wave, 64-year-old Liudmyla Nakonechna said she had been woken by loud explosions at 1.30 am. "I ran into the corridor and was standing there when the bathroom door was blown off its hinges and struck me in the leg," said Nakonechna, whose health is poor after cancer treatment. "I heard the sound of shattering glass. My balcony was covered in glass and it was completely blown apart, while the windows in my bedroom were also blown out."Nakonechna said she had not taken cover in a shelter since Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, but the strain had become too much. "It's getting worse by the day," she said. "Whereas before there was an attack once every two weeks, or maybe once a week, now it happens practically every day. It is incredibly hard to bear this psychologically." The latest attack left at least nine dead and 22 injured in Kyiv, with damage reported across multiple districts as rescuers worked through the aftermath.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 1, 2026 11:32 IST