2 people died, 19 were injured when Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles and drones
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Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles and drones on Saturday, killing two people and wounding 19, officials said, as Kyiv awaited a shipment of air defense weapons after a shortage left it vulnerable to Russian aggression.
Eleven people were injured in the capital, Kyiv, in an attack that used ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones.
“Civil infrastructure was affected before the airstrike warning was issued,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that rescuers were working in the area.
Andrew Chang breaks down why Ukraine’s air defenses failed to intercept any missiles fired by Russia during its latest offensive. Photos provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters, Adobe Stock and Getty Images
“Our defenders were able to shoot down most of the targets, but not the ballistic ones,” he said, calling on Ukraine’s allies to quickly deliver air support packages agreed at this week’s NATO summit in Turkey.
Russia launched six cruise missiles, six more cruise missiles and 121 drones, Ukraine’s air force said, adding that it had shot down at least two missiles and 111 drones.
Later in the morning, a missile strike in the port city of Odesa killed two people and wounded another, while a drone struck a civilian company east of the city of Kharkiv, injuring seven.
Ukraine is asking for offers from partners
Ukraine, heavily outnumbered by its Patriot air defense systems, has been unable to bring down the missiles, which travel several times faster, over the past month.
It has urged its allies to acquire more supplies of those weapons, and has also pressed Europe to cooperate with Kyiv on its anti-ballistic air defense system.
At the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Donald Trump said the US would give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptors, a key military defense tool against Russian missiles.
US President Donald Trump said this week that Ukraine will be granted a license to manufacture its Patriot interceptor missiles.
After Saturday’s attack, Zelenskyy called for those projects to continue “as soon as possible.”
Russia has stepped up attacks on the Ukrainian capital in recent weeks. So far this month, strikes in and around Kyiv have killed more than 60 people.
Kyiv, on the other hand, has been pressuring Russian forces in southern Ukraine, seeking to deprive Russian forces of fuel and weapons by conducting strikes on trucks and ships deep behind the front lines.
Ukraine’s military chief, Robert Brovdi, said his units hit 21 oil tankers in the Sea of Azov overnight, as well as seven other cargo and support vessels, making 76 ships hit this week.
