Explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital of Kiev following a ballistic missile attack launched by Russia. The strikes occurred hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Moscow was likely to carry out a large-scale overnight offensive.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed the capital was under attack by ballistic weapons and urged all residents to seek safety in shelters. He noted that the threat of further strikes remained present. Following the initial explosions, Klitschko reported that several non-residential sites had caught fire.
Late on Wednesday, President Zelenskyy had alerted the public to the impending danger. In a post on X, he stated that Russian forces had prepared a massive attack several days prior and that there was a high probability the strike would be carried out overnight. He urged citizens in all regions of Ukraine to pay close attention to air raid alerts.
In the wake of the attack, Zelenskyy renewed his appeal for Ukraine's allies to provide additional missiles for the country's air defense systems. He confirmed that he discussed these urgent needs with US President Donald Trump during talks at the White House on Tuesday. The discussions included the possibility of Ukraine producing Patriot interceptor missiles under license, a proposal Trump had expressed support for earlier in July as Russian ballistic missile attacks intensified.
According to Zelenskyy, only US-made Patriot systems are capable of intercepting Russia's ballistic missiles. However, he stated that Ukraine is currently facing a critical shortage of PAC-3 interceptor missiles. He added that this shortage has worsened since the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran in February.
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