The Ukrainian Air Force has confirmed a catastrophic shortage of interceptor missiles, admitting that not a single one of the 23 ballistic missiles fired by Russia at Kyiv on Sunday night was intercepted.
The strikes, part of a massive offensive involving 68 missiles and 351 strike drones, claimed the lives of at least 23 people across the capital and the surrounding region.
While Ukrainian forces successfully downed or suppressed a portion of the incoming cruise missiles and drones, the inability to stop ballistic weaponry has left residential areas defenseless.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is set to meet with world leaders at the upcoming NATO summit, slammed the lack of production capacity for defensive systems as 'absurd.' He explicitly warned that Moscow will continue to target civilian infrastructure as long as vital Patriot interceptors remain sitting in the stockpiles of Western allies rather than being deployed to the front lines.
The destruction in Kyiv is severe, with multiple apartment blocks partially collapsed and dozens of citizens injured. Russia claims these strikes are retaliation for ongoing Ukrainian drone operations targeting Russian energy facilities and oil refineries, including a recent strike on a refinery in Omsk.
As the conflict intensifies, Zelensky is pushing for 'strong decisions' from the U.S. and European partners to bolster Ukraine's air defense capabilities, insisting that the West possesses the necessary power to halt the ongoing bombardment.
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