Ukraine’s limited air defences fought to repel a large-scale Russian air attack in the early hours of Sunday. Still, four people were killed and several buildings in Kyiv and its outskirts were destroyed or damaged, according to officials.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the “massive Russian attack” on Ukraine lasted for more than 12 hours, calling it “savage” and “deliberate, targeted terror against ordinary cities”. He said that Russia had fired nearly 500 attack drones and more than 40 missiles, including ballistic missiles.
The barrage comes as peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow stall over Russian president Vladimir Putin’s demand for Ukraine’s complete capitulation.
It also follows the UN General Assembly last week, during which US president Donald Trump shocked Mr Zelenskiy by saying that his country could win back all of its territory seized by Russia.
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Sirens howled before dawn on Sunday and residents dashed for shelter as Russian drones swarmed the Ukrainian capital. Explosions shook walls and rattled windows as they hit their targets or were intercepted by anti-aircraft fire over the city of four million people. Cruise and ballistic missiles followed as the latest bombardment in Russia’s long-running aerial campaign continued until morning, when black smoke could be seen over Kyiv.
Kyiv, along with the regions Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolayiv, Chernihiv and Odesa, were the main targets of the strikes.
Ukrainian authorities said a 12-year-old girl was among those killed when a five-storey residential building in Kyiv was struck. Across Ukraine, at least 40 people are known to have been injured, including children.
The threat of missiles and drones also forced Poland to briefly close part of its airspace near two of its southeastern cities, Lublin and Rzeszów, as its air force scrambled jets in response to Russia’s latest attack on its neighbour.
The Polish military issued a statement at about 8am Warsaw time to say that the special security operation had concluded after not finding any fresh violation of Polish airspace.
“The activated ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have returned to standard operational activity,” said the Polish military, extending thanks to the Dutch air force and German army, which operate Patriot missile batteries in Poland, for their help on Sunday.
“This is exactly how Russia declares its true position. Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world,” said Mr Zelenskiy on Sunday.
“The Kremlin benefits from continuing this war and terror as long as it earns revenue from energy and operates a shadow fleet,” he added.
Mr Zelenskiy said those nations that want peace “must back President Trump’s efforts and halt any Russian imports”, a reference to some European Union countries still buying gas from Moscow.
Recent comments from German chancellor Friedrich Merz suggest Europe is softening its reluctance to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s war effort, with Mr Merz arguing that the move could unlock a €140 billion loan for Kyiv and show “staying power” against Russian aggression.
Ukraine also needs more air defence systems, even as Mr Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv on Saturday that a Patriot air defence battery from Israel that had been sent to the US for refurbishment arrived in Ukraine earlier this month and was already operational.
He said that two more Patriot systems would arrive this autumn, but that more would be needed to cover the full territory of Ukraine.
– Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
