It was the second attack in a week in which Russia deployed the hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles – triggering Zelenskyy’s desperate new appeal for allies to send advanced missiles for the US-made Patriot air defence systems.
He is to discuss the war with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, which begins Tuesday.
“It is critically important that the world – first and foremost the United States and our European partners – come out of the NATO Summit in Ankara with strong decisions in support of our air defence, and thus the protection of ordinary people’s lives,” he said on social media.
At least 14 people were killed in Kyiv and the surrounding region, with around 60 more wounded, he said.
Russia fired 68 missiles and 351 attack drones, he added.
Officials in the Kyiv suburb of Vyshneve said they were evacuating residents due to the possibility of unexploded munitions in the debris.
“MASSIVE STRIKE”
Locals in the northern Podilsky district of the capital said their area had been targeted heavily in recent Russian strikes.
“At 1.30am, a powerful hit occurred. A blast wave, all the windows blew out. And then it hit three more times,” Oleksandr Bakhlukov, who lives in a nearby building, told AFP.
“Glass was falling down. There wasn’t a single pane of glass left in the apartment,” the 68-year-old added.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had carried out a “massive strike” using missiles and drones against what it described as “military-industrial enterprises,” fuel and energy complex facilities in several Ukrainian regions.
Around 30 residential buildings in Kyiv were hit, with rescuers still sifting through the rubble hours after the attack, officials said.