A wave of Russian ballistic missiles slammed into Kyiv overnight on Sunday, and for the first time in this fresh barrage, not a single one of them was shot down. At least 15 people were killed in the Ukrainian capital and seven more died across the wider Kyiv region, a combined toll of 22 that officials say was made worse by a serious shortage of interceptor missiles.
23 Missiles, and Not One Stopped
The Ukrainian Air Force said outright that a serious shortage of interceptor missiles meant it could not stop any of the 23 ballistic missiles Russia fired at Kyiv that night. It marked the second large scale Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital within a week, and by Monday morning the scale of destruction was plain to see across the city. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had managed to intercept cruise missiles and drones but had failed against the ballistic missiles. He described Sunday's assault as a massive Russian attack made up of 68 missiles and 351 strike drones, adding that the air force shot down or suppressed 37 of the missiles and 326 of the drones. He warned that Moscow would keep hitting residential buildings for as long as defensive Patriot missile systems remain in allied stockpiles rather than reaching Ukraine. Ballistic missiles travel far faster and drop at a much steeper angle than cruise missiles or drones, which is exactly why specialised systems like Patriot batteries are needed to catch them, and why a shortage of interceptors translates so directly into civilian casualties on the ground.
Fires, Collapsed Buildings and a Desperate Search for Survivors
Residents of the capital lived through another terrifying night, with loud explosions ringing out and Ukraine's air defence systems firing back in response. By Monday morning, three large blocks of flats in the city had partially collapsed, some after being hit directly by missiles, and helicopters were shuttling back and forth overhead, scooping water from the river to douse the fires that had broken out. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said 56 people were injured in the capital alone, including seven children, while 29 more people, among them four rescuers, were also hurt.
Scenes From the Rubble
At one strike site in Kyiv's Podilskyi district, rescue crews spent hours working through the ruins of an apartment block that had a huge hole blown clean through its middle. Specialists brought in sniffer dogs to search for anyone still missing beneath the rubble as cranes hauled away giant slabs of broken concrete, sending loose bricks tumbling to the ground below. On a nearby bench, one woman sat crying, too distraught to speak, while a rescue team helping her said two of her relatives were feared buried in the debris. Elsewhere, families who had lost everything queued patiently to register their losses with the police.
One woman, whose flat had been on the eighth floor of a building that has now simply vanished, tried to describe what happened before breaking off and turning away to sob. Four punishing years of war have already worn people down, and the aerial bombardment is only getting worse. Another resident, Olena, recalled the moment a nearby blast blew out her windows. She said the glass shattered and hit her and those around her, almost striking their heads, and that everything then began shaking. She admitted she had not gone down to the bomb shelter when the sirens sounded because she was exhausted and simply wanted to sleep before going to work the next day. She said she felt as though she had calmed down, yet was still trembling all over.
Olena also had a pointed question of her own about the fact that Ukraine failed to stop even one ballistic missile this time. She said the missiles had hit their houses, calling it terrible and really scary, and said it felt as though Ukraine had nothing left to intercept them with. She asked where the country's partners were and what was happening, saying that was her question.
Zelensky's Urgent Appeal Ahead of the NATO Summit
Hours before Sunday's strikes, Zelensky had already warned that Moscow was preparing a second massive strike on Kyiv, following an attack on Thursday that killed 30 people. Ukraine accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilian areas in that earlier attack, while Russia claimed it had struck military and energy facilities in retaliation for recent Ukrainian strikes on power stations and energy infrastructure inside Russian territory.
Several reports suggest Zelensky is set to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit, which opens in Ankara, Turkey on Tuesday. In a post on X on Monday, Zelensky said it was critically important that the United States and Ukraine's European partners arrive at the summit with strong decisions in support of Ukraine's air defence, and by extension the protection of ordinary people's lives. He argued that the United States and Europe have enough power between them to stop this terror. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine's urgent need for more air defence capability would be on the agenda at the summit.
A Week of Strikes on Both Sides
Kyiv, for its part, has kept up its own drone campaign against critical Russian energy sites, with power temporarily cut in the city of Sevastopol in Russian occupied Crimea. The Ukrainian military said it had struck three Russian oil refineries, including the country's largest facility at Omsk, more than 2,414 kilometres or 1,500 miles away, making it one of Kyiv's longest range targets inside Russian territory to date. Russia's Ministry of Defence, for its part, said Ukraine had launched 625 long range strike drones and claimed its forces had shot down 613 of them.
Four Years of War, and No End in Sight
Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently controls approximately one fifth of Ukrainian territory. More than four years into the fighting, that backdrop is exactly why the debate over interceptor missiles and air defence supplies has become so urgent, and why Zelensky is pressing allies for concrete commitments rather than sympathy at this week's summit.
