At least 13 killed in Kyiv as Ukraine grapples with air defence shortages
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Imogen James and Dan Johnson, Ukraine correspondents
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, tells the BBC Ukraine needs more help from its partners to protect civilians.
At least 13 people have been killed and 40 injured in the latest Russian strikes targeting the Ukrainian capital, according to Ukraine’s prime minister. Kyiv continues to face a shortage of air defence missiles.
Apartment blocks and warehouses were struck across the city overnight, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported, while a children’s hospital and school also sustained damage.
The deaths were the result of a shortage of air defence missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated, for which Kyiv relies on western allies for supply.
Speaking to BBC News at a wrecked apartment block in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko expressed the need for: "ammunition, anti-missile systems – we need support from our partners."
Klitschko visited the Solomianskyi district to assess the damage. Emergency workers continued to search through rubble, while people stood outside their destroyed homes.
One such resident was Valeria Bondaruk, who relocated to Kyiv after her home in southern Ukraine was bombed, seeking safety. Now, she’s been displaced a second time. A shard of glass in her bedroom wall served as a stark reminder of the danger she faced. She hid in a hallway overnight as they have no bomb shelter.
Bondaruk shared her fears for her 13-year-old daughter’s future and considered leaving Ukraine.
An MP, Oleksiy Goncharenko, highlighted Ukraine’s lack of protection from ballistic missile attacks: "We are absolutely unprotected… we can’t do anything without interceptors."
Zelensky wrote on Telegram: "As long as Ukraine does not have enough anti-ballistics, Russia will not seriously think about peace… The interceptors for the Patriots have not yet been replaced, and they are needed every day. Each additional missile saves the lives of our people."
An update from the Ukrainian Air Force suggested that none of the Russian ballistic missiles used overnight were intercepted.
The Russian defence ministry claimed it targeted military facilities and warehouses using air, land, and sea-based weapons.
Ukraine has relied on American supplies of Patriot interceptor missiles to combat Russian ballistic missiles.
