KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Russia launched waves of missiles and drones at Kyiv early Monday, killing at least 12 people in an attack that exposed widening gaps in Ukraine鈥檚 air defenses, authorities said.
All of the ballistic missiles launched by Russia struck their targets, underscoring Kyiv鈥檚 need for more Patriot interceptor missiles 鈥� a point Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will likely reiterate at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, this week. The attack came hours after Zelenskyy warned that a large-scale attack was imminent.
A further 60 people were wounded, according to Zelenskyy, as emergency workers combed through rubble looking for survivors at residential high-rises in two locations that suffered direct hits.
Days earlier, on Thursday, a Russian strike killed 31 people in Kyiv, the deadliest for the capital this year. Russia鈥檚 Defense Ministry said the bombardment was retaliation for Ukraine鈥檚 recent long-range strikes, which have caused severe and pressured President Vladimir Putin.
More than four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor, Ukraine鈥檚 in recent months, analysts and Western officials say. Strikes on supply routes behind the front line have stripped the Russian army of momentum on the battlefield, they say, slowing its advance and driving up the cost.
But Russia is now exploiting a different kind of momentum: vulnerabilities in Ukraine鈥檚 air defenses, which remain heavily reliant on the U.S. Patriot systems to intercept ballistic missiles it can rarely shoot down any other way. The war in the Middle East has strained the global supply of Patriot interceptors, already produced in limited numbers 鈥� a shortage now most of all being felt in Ukraine.
Gaps in Ukraine’s air defense
Ukraine鈥檚 air force said Russia fired 351 drones and 68 missiles overnight, targeting mainly Kyiv, and all 29 ballistic missiles struck their targets.
鈥淭o intercept ballistics, we need the means for interception,鈥� air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on national television. 鈥淩ussians are certainly using the fact that there is a serious deficit of interceptor missiles now, in Ukraine and the world.鈥�
Ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, Zelenskyy said on X that Ukrainian forces had performed well against drones and cruise missiles but not against Russian ballistic missiles 鈥� a shortfall he blamed on insufficient interceptor supplies. He urged U.S. and European partners to leave the summit with strong decisions to bolster Ukraine鈥檚 air defense and protect civilian lives.
鈥淎s long as Patriot missiles remain in our allies鈥� stockpiles, Russia is only encouraged to keep 鈥榲anquishing鈥� residential buildings. The United States and Europe have enough strength to stop this terror,鈥� he said in a statement following the attack.
Russia鈥檚 Defense Ministry said the attack targeted weapons factories in Kyiv, including sites it said produce drones, sea drones, armored vehicles and missiles, as well as facilities repairing air defense systems and fuel and energy infrastructure in the city and surrounding region. The claims could not be independently verified.
Russia鈥檚 aerial attacks on Ukraine have repeatedly hit civilian areas. More than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the war, according to the United Nations.
鈥淭hese are residential buildings. Places where people slept and lived their ordinary lives,鈥� said Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv鈥檚 Military Administration, in a post on Telegram.
A residential building in the Podilskyi district partially collapsed, he said. In the Darnytsia district, several multistory buildings were damaged and people were believed to be trapped under the rubble.
Witnesses recount harrowing escape
Khrystyna Piatetska, 20, a resident of Kyiv鈥檚 Darnytskyi district, said she began screaming after the first strike, which was followed by a second blast that blew out the windows in her apartment building.
The lights went out, the smell of burning filled the air and the stairwell was thick with smoke, she said.
鈥淲hen we were leaving the building, bodies were lying there,鈥� Piatetska said. 鈥淲hen we got downstairs, cars started exploding, and we came out from under the rubble straight into the fire.鈥�
Halina Ivanivna, 61, said she woke to the sound of the first strike at around 2 a.m. Moments later, her apartment building began to collapse around her. 鈥淓verything was falling down,鈥� she said. Water poured through the building as smoke filled the air while emergency crews rushed to evacuate residents.
About five minutes after the initial impact, a second strike hit, she said.
Ukrainian attacks in Russia and occupied Crimea
Meanwhile, an energy provider in reported a blackout across the peninsula due to 鈥渆xternal impact.鈥� The Moscow-appointed head of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said Ukrainian attacks cut power supplies to the city early Monday, but it was later restored using backup equipment.
Russia’s Yaroslavl region Gov. Mikhail Yavrayev said two people were wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on the city of the same name. He said over 70 Ukrainian drones were downed. Yavrayev didn鈥檛 say if any facilities were damaged, but Astra online news outlet said the attack targeted an oil refinery, causing a fire.
Russia鈥檚 Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 519 Ukrainian drones overnight.
___ Associated Press writers Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Susie Blann in London contributed to this report.
___
Follow the AP鈥檚 coverage of the war in Ukraine at
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
