Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least 21 people across Ukraine overnight, including two children, in one of Moscow's largest assaults in recent months, officials said on Tuesday.
Casualties in Dnipro and Kyiv
In Dnipro, 15 people were killed, among them an eight-year-old boy and three women pulled from the rubble of an apartment block, according to regional officials. In the capital Kyiv, six people were killed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said civilian infrastructure and energy facilities were targeted, with more than 100 injured.
Russia's Response
Russia's defence ministry said the strikes were retaliation for previous Ukrainian attacks, claiming all “strike objectives” were achieved. The Kremlin stated it was carrying out systematic strikes pledged after accusing Kyiv of a deadly attack on a student dormitory in occupied eastern Ukraine in late May. Kyiv said it had hit a Russian military unit. “This practice will continue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, asserting that strikes targeted Ukrainian military infrastructure.
Ukraine's Appeal for Aid
Zelenskyy had warned of a possible “massive strike” in his Monday night address. On Tuesday morning, he said Russia launched 656 strike drones and 73 missiles of various types. “We urgently need help from the United States in supplying missiles for Patriot systems,” he said, referring to interception hardware. Patriot missiles are in short supply, exacerbated by the US and Israeli war against Iran. Since returning to power last year, US President Donald Trump has stopped direct supplies to Ukraine, so European allies buy them from America before sending them to Kyiv.
