DistantNews
Support us
Russia hits Kyiv with nearly 30 ballistic missiles on eve of NATO summit
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Conflict & Security

Russia hits Kyiv with nearly 30 ballistic missiles on eve of NATO summit

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Russia launched a massive ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on the eve of a NATO summit in Ankara, with Ukrainian air defenses failing to intercept any of the 29 missiles used.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the inability to intercept the missiles, including 23 Iskander-M and 6 Zircon and Oniks missiles, was due to an insufficient supply of PAC-3 interceptor missiles for Patriot systems.
  • Zelensky urged the international community, particularly the U.S. and European partners, to make decisive decisions at the NATO summit to support Ukraine's air defense and protect civilians.

Russia launched a massive ballistic missile attack on Kyiv just hours before the annual NATO summit was set to begin in Ankara, Turkey. Ukrainian air defenses were unable to intercept any of the 29 ballistic missiles employed by Russian forces in the assault.

The attack, which killed at least 14 people in the Kyiv region, highlighted Ukraine's vulnerability to Russian ballistic missiles, a fact acknowledged by President Volodymyr Zelensky. He condemned the attack, stating that the failure to intercept the 23 Iskander-M and 6 Zircon and Oniks missiles was due to a "shortage of interceptor missiles" for the Patriot air defense systems, which Ukraine relies on for protection.

It is critically important that the world, and first and foremost the United States and our European partners, leave the NATO summit in Ankara with decisive decisions in support of our air defense, and thus the protection of ordinary human lives.

— Volodymyr ZelenskyThe Ukrainian President urged international support for air defense following a massive Russian missile attack.

"It is critically important that the world, and first and foremost the United States and our European partners, leave the NATO summit in Ankara with decisive decisions in support of our air defense, and thus the protection of ordinary human lives," Zelensky wrote on X. He added that as long as PAC-3 missiles remain in allied stockpiles, Russia will continue its attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed Zelensky's plea, emphasizing that "thousands (of PAC-3 missiles) are stored in warehouses around the world." He urged that these reserves be directed to "the only country in the world currently facing weekly ballistic missile attacks," referring to Ukraine. Both leaders stressed the grave threat posed by these missiles to Ukrainian civilians, with Kuleba stating, "Putin's message to Ankara is simple: he will target sleeping children with ballistic missiles and continue to kill as long as he can. What will the Alliance leaders respond with?"

Putin's message to Ankara is simple: he will target sleeping children with ballistic missiles and continue to kill as long as he can. What will the Alliance leaders respond with?

— Dmytro KulebaUkraine's Foreign Minister highlighted the urgency of the situation ahead of the NATO summit.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog