Russian strikes kill 4 in Kyiv; Ukraine hits oil hubs
Russian drones and missiles killed four people across Ukraine on Wednesday in attacks before dawn and at midday, as Moscow kept up its pressure on the capital of Kyiv in the latest phase of the over 4-year-old war.
Ukraine struck oil refineries in Russia’s Saratov and Tatarstan regions, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in Turkiye to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
Answering reporters’ questions with Zelenskyy, Trump said the US would give licenses so that Patriot air defence systems can be made overseas for Ukraine to counter Russia. Zelenskyy thanked Trump for his support and said Kyiv wanted to discuss weapons supplies, possible peace negotiations and a developing drone deal.
“Air defence is the priority,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv wanted to share details of its needs under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, in which European allies and Canada are buying American weapons to help his country.
Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian and US officials had begun work on a drone deal, calling it “a very good beginning.” Russia attacks Kyiv, hours apart. In Kyiv, several explosions were heard shortly after midnight, even before authorities could issue an air raid alert to give civilians time to find shelter.
The early morning Russian attacks killed one woman and injured two others in Kyiv, according to city administration head Tymur Tkachenko. The State Emergency Service said the attack damaged several administrative buildings and warehouses, as well as a garage complex and several trams.
Hours later, another Russian drone struck Desnianskyi district, killing a second person, Tkachenko said. A total of eight people were injured in the Russian attacks on the Capital.
In Kharkiv, two people were killed and 20 others were injured in a series of overnight strikes, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. In Zaporizhzhia, Russian guided bomb injured a man and a woman Tuesday night, regional head Ivan Fedorov said. Ukraine’s air force says Russia fired 169 long-range strike drones and seven missiles, including five ballistic missiles. Air defences shot down or jammed 139 drones, and two anti-radar missiles didn’t reach their targets, it said.
All five ballistic missiles and 20 drones struck targets at 15 locations, the air force said, underscoring the continued strain on Ukraine’s air defences. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it struck an arms industry facilities in Kyiv, hitting a plant that manufactured components for Flamingo cruise missiles.
