Russia attacks Kyiv with ballistic missiles as Ukraine races for faster drone defences

Russia fired ballistic missiles and dozens of jet-powered drones at Kyiv overnight, Ukraine's air force said on Tuesday, as Moscow stepped up pressure on the Ukrainian capital and other cities with sustained attacks.

The latest barrage came as Ukraine tries to keep pace with new threats in the war. The country is developing faster interceptor drones to counter Russia's new jet-powered drones, which fly too fast and too high for Ukrainian ground-based air defences to bring down, while also facing a shortage of US-made Patriot interceptor missiles used against ballistic attacks.

Ukraine said its air defences shot down two ballistic missiles overnight, suggesting that Kyiv had recently received some more Patriots. Patriot stockpiles are low, largely because of the Iran war, and Ukraine has received only small numbers this year despite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's appeals. Air defence needs are rising ahead of winter, a period that has seen intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid since the full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022, disrupting heating and running water for civilians.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces hit data processing centres in Kyiv that Moscow says are used by the Ukrainian military, which is increasingly using artificial intelligence on the battlefield. It also said Russian forces struck facilities in Kyiv and the surrounding region where drones and cruise missiles were stored, as well as an electrical substation, a drone manufacturing facility and port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region.

Ukrainian authorities said the barrage hit apartment buildings, houses and public transport in Kyiv, wounding one person. In Odesa, local officials said eight people were wounded overnight and that residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, a school, an animal shelter and port infrastructure were damaged.

Ukraine has also continued its own long-range strikes, targeting Russian missile and drone manufacturing plants and launch sites, and hitting Russian oil refineries, which it says has caused fuel shortages. The two armies remain largely deadlocked along the long front line in eastern and southern Ukraine. Zelenskyy said late on Monday that Moscow intends to increase recruitment for another battlefield push, and added that another 10,000 North Korean troops are heading to Russia, on top of the 8,000 he said are already there. Russia and North Korea have openly acknowledged their military cooperation.

The overnight strikes on Kyiv and Odesa underlined both the pressure Russia is seeking to exert through missile and drone attacks and the growing strain on Ukraine's air defences as winter approaches.