Russia Fires Ballistic Missiles at Kyiv for Third Time in a Week

Russia launched another overnight barrage of ballistic missiles and drones on Kyiv early Wednesday, killing at least one person, as Ukraine again failed to intercept any of the missiles amid a growing shortage of US-made Patriot air defence systems.

The latest strike came as NATO leaders gathered in Ankara, where US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the war and Kyiv's defence needs.

According to Ukraine's air force, air defences intercepted 139 of the 169 drones launched by Russia overnight but failed to shoot down any of the five ballistic missiles used in the attack.

Russia has intensified its aerial bombardment in recent months as fighting on the ground has slowed and Ukrainian strikes on Russian military logistics and oil infrastructure have disrupted fuel supplies.

Air force data showed that Russian attacks have killed 60 people in Kyiv and the surrounding region since the beginning of July. During the same period, Ukraine has intercepted only four of the 54 ballistic missiles fired by Russia, underscoring its dwindling stock of Patriot interceptor missiles.

Reuters witnesses reported explosions in Kyiv moments before air raid sirens sounded. Ukrainian authorities said one woman was killed and two others were injured in the overnight assault.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes sparked fires in a storage facility and a non-residential building in two districts on opposite sides of the Dnipro River. Reuters footage showed warehouses engulfed in flames as firefighters battled the blaze into the morning.

Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, also came under missile attack overnight, with local officials reporting damage to homes and a church. A separate missile strike later on Wednesday hit a residential building, killing two people, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed for additional US-made Patriot interceptor missiles, the only weapons in Ukraine's arsenal capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. He is expected to raise the issue during his meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

Trump, who spoke separately with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the summit, said on Tuesday in Ankara that he believed the war could be "settled, hopefully soon."

Putin has insisted Russia will continue its military campaign despite mounting challenges and has maintained demands that Ukraine cede the remainder of the eastern Donetsk region, much of which Russian forces have yet to capture after more than four years of fighting.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone attacks overnight killed one person in Russia and damaged several industrial facilities, according to local Russian authorities.

(inputs from Reuters)