Second Russian Strike on Kyiv Kills 14 Ahead of NATO Summit
Russia launched a second major missile and drone attack on Kyiv in less than a week, killing at least 14 people and wounding around 60 others, Ukrainian authorities said Monday. The assault came on the eve of a crucial NATO summit in Ankara, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
The Monday morning strike punched a hole through a multi-storey apartment block in the Ukrainian capital, ripping its top floors in two. More than 10 explosions were heard during a ballistic missile alert overnight, with flashes in the sky as the blasts rang out. It was the second attack in a week in which Russia deployed hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles, triggering a desperate new appeal from Zelenskyy for allies to send advanced interceptor missiles for US-made Patriot air defence systems.
Zelenskyy Urges NATO to Act
President Zelenskyy urged the alliance to take strong decisions on boosting Ukraine's air defences following the strike, which came just days after another Russian attack killed more than 30 people in Kyiv. He is to discuss the war with President 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, Mr Zelenskyy said on social media.
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.
Residents Describe the Attack
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, said. Glass was falling down. There was not a single pane of glass left in the apartment, the 68-year-old added.
Around 30 residential buildings in Kyiv were hit, with rescuers still sifting through the rubble hours after the attack, officials said. Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's army had shot down the Russian drones and cruise missiles, but had insufficient supply of interceptor missiles to stop the ballistic missiles.
EU and NATO Response
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the attack showed that Ukraine urgently needed more air defences and that this would be discussed at the NATO meeting. The European Union also said that Ukraine needs air defence reinforcements.
Russia's defence ministry said it had carried out a massive strike using missiles and drones against what it described as military-industrial enterprises and fuel and energy complex facilities in several Ukrainian regions. Russia's army said its forces also shot down more than 500 Ukrainian drones overnight. Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on state-backed media that several waves of the drones were bound for the Russian capital.
Diplomatic Efforts Stalled
US-led attempts to broker an end to the more than four-year war have gone nowhere. The White House said Mr Trump would meet Mr Zelenskyy on Wednesday during the NATO summit in a bid to invigorate diplomacy. The president is obviously getting together with him to talk about how we can end the war. That has been a priority of his for a long time, a senior US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said Trump would then follow up with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin chief has so far refused to back down on hardline territorial and political demands that Ukraine and its allies say amount to capitulation. Both sides had vowed fresh attacks after Russia struck apartment buildings in Kyiv last week, killing more than 30 people, including entire families.
What Does This Mean for Australia?
Australia, as a key US ally in the Indo-Pacific and a supporter of multilateral institutions, has consistently backed Ukraine's sovereignty. The NATO summit in Ankara will be closely watched in Canberra, particularly for any decisions on air defence supplies that could shift the balance of the conflict. The attack underscores the ongoing volatility in Europe and the importance of allied coordination, which Australia supports through its liberal democratic values and commitment to global security.