Russian missiles struck Ukraine’s capital early Wednesday for the third time in less than a week, igniting fires across the city just as NATO leaders gathered in Ankara for their annual summit, where Ukraine’s air defence needs have moved to the centre of the agenda.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement on Telegram that the latest strikes had triggered fires in two districts of the capital. At least two people were reported injured, with one requiring hospital treatment, according to the mayor’s office.
The attack followed a Russian missile strike on the southern port city of Odesa a day earlier that injured ten people, eight of whom were hospitalised, regional governor Oleh Kiper said.
Wednesday’s bombardment extends a punishing week for Kyiv. A large-scale Russian assault on Monday killed at least 14 people and damaged a dozen buildings in the capital, while a ferocious attack the previous Thursday killed at least 30 people, ranking among the deadliest single strikes on the city since the war began nearly four and a half years ago.
Zelensky Warned of Escalation Before Strikes Hit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had cautioned just hours before the assault that Moscow was preparing another major strike, a warning that proved accurate almost immediately. Writing on social media over the weekend, Zelensky suggested the timing of Russia’s escalating attacks was deliberate, coming in the days surrounding both the American Independence Day holiday and the opening of NATO’s summit in Turkey.
Civilian casualties in Ukraine this year are running significantly higher than during the same period in 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said in a statement issued earlier this week, a finding that underscores the intensifying human toll of Russia’s shifting battlefield strategy.
Moscow Says Strikes Are Retaliation for Ukrainian Attacks on Its Oil Sector
Russia’s Defence Ministry has described its recent barrage as retaliation for a Ukrainian campaign of long-range strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, saying its forces used what it called high-precision, long-range weapons to hit military-industrial facilities and fuel and energy sites in and around Kyiv.
Ukrainian officials, however, have pointed to the extensive damage inflicted on apartment buildings and residential neighbourhoods as evidence that Russia’s targeting has extended well beyond military infrastructure.
Ukraine has continued to press its own offensive against Russia’s energy sector even as the bombardment of Kyiv intensified. Ukrainian forces struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries this week in a long-range strike more than 2,500 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, part of a broader campaign that has contributed to a deepening fuel crisis inside Russia.
Ukraine also said its forces struck a dozen tankers from what it described as Russia’s “shadow fleet” over the past two days, hitting eight sanctioned vessels delivering fuel to Russian-occupied Crimea through the Sea of Azov, with two additional tankers struck later.
Air Defence Shortages Leave Kyiv Exposed
Ukrainian officials say the country’s ability to counter Russia’s expanding missile arsenal is being severely strained by a global shortage of Patriot interceptors, the air defence system considered the most effective tool against incoming ballistic missiles. Air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat has said Russia is increasingly exploiting that shortage by launching ballistic missiles, along with newer jet-powered Geran-4 drones capable of flying too fast for Ukraine’s mobile defence units to intercept.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine “urgently needs more air defence,” adding that the issue would be a central topic of discussion this week at the NATO summit in Ankara.
Zelensky Presses NATO for Commitments in Ankara
The renewed strikes on Kyiv have added urgency to Zelensky’s appeals at the summit, where he has renewed calls for Ukraine’s eventual membership in the alliance while urging member states to accelerate military support for the country’s air defences. Zelensky wrote on social media Tuesday that he had signed new defence agreements with Estonia, the Netherlands and Denmark while in Ankara, describing the deals as creating new opportunities for joint production and the exchange of battlefield-tested defence technology. Further agreements with Germany, Norway, Finland and Canada were expected to follow.
US President Donald Trump, who is attending the summit, is expected to meet with Zelensky on the sidelines in the coming days. Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone over the weekend in a call Russia’s foreign ministry said lasted nearly ninety minutes, during which Trump again offered to help broker an end to the war.
Whether that diplomatic overture yields any tangible shift on the battlefield remains uncertain, as Kyiv braces for the possibility of further strikes even as NATO’s summit deliberations continue.
