Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Russia launched one of its deadliest assaults on Kyiv in recent weeks, striking residential neighbourhoods with a barrage of missiles and drones just hours before world leaders gathered for the NATO Summit in Turkey, where Ukraine’s security is expected to dominate the agenda. Ukrainian authorities said the overnight strikes killed at least 30 people and injured more than 100 others, with rescue and emergency crews continuing search operations at multiple sites across the city through the morning.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia fired 68 missiles and more than 350 drones in the assault, calling it one of the largest single attacks Kyiv has faced in recent weeks. He renewed his appeal for additional Patriot air defence batteries and pressed the United States to permit Ukraine to manufacture the systems domestically, arguing that Kyiv urgently needs a more robust shield against Russia’s ballistic missile arsenal, which has repeatedly overwhelmed existing air defence coverage during large scale strikes.
The timing of the assault, arriving just as NATO leaders convene in Ankara, is likely to sharpen the focus of summit discussions on continued military support for Ukraine and the broader question of how the alliance addresses Russia’s sustained aerial campaign against Ukrainian cities. The strikes come ahead of an expected meeting between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump on the summit’s sidelines, as diplomatic efforts to bring the three year conflict to a negotiated end continue without a clear breakthrough.
Kyiv has endured repeated waves of large scale missile and drone strikes over recent months, with Russian forces increasingly combining cheaper drone swarms with more expensive precision missiles in an effort to exhaust Ukrainian air defence stockpiles. Western officials have periodically flagged concerns over the pace of ammunition resupply to Ukraine, even as European allies have sought to fill gaps left by fluctuating US commitments under the current administration.
The attack underscores the continuing volatility of the conflict even as diplomatic channels, including periodic contacts brokered by Turkey, remain open. Ankara has positioned itself as a potential venue for peace negotiations in the past, and the timing of this latest strike ensures that Ukraine’s security needs will feature prominently in bilateral and multilateral conversations on the summit’s sidelines, even though the formal agenda is centred on broader alliance readiness and burden sharing among member states.
