KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian ballistic missile and drone strike on Ukraine has left at least eight civilians dead, including children, and wounded dozens more. Ukrainian officials described this as part of Russia’s persistent bombardment of Ukrainian cities. Moscow appears to be taking advantage of Kyiv’s lack of adequate Western-supplied anti-ballistic missile defenses.
Concerns have arisen in Poland, a NATO member, over reports that a Russian cruise missile entered its airspace during the attack.
The assault covered multiple regions across Ukraine, reaching areas near the Polish border far from the front line. These areas are suspected of storing and producing weapons for Ukraine’s conflict against Russia’s invasion, which has lasted over four years. While Ukrainian long-range drones and missiles have disrupted Russia’s oil industry, causing a fuel shortage.
This attack occurred two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Donald Trump, urging for faster and larger deliveries of Patriot air defense systems. Trump has agreed to grant Ukraine licenses to produce its Patriots, though the setup of production may take considerable time.
With the shortage of air defense missiles from partners, our forces are achieving incredible results with high professionalism,Zelenskyy stated, highlighting the importance of missile threat defense in safeguarding Ukrainian lives.
Russian Attack Targets Military Sites
Zelenskyy reported attacks on at least ten Ukrainian regions, resulting in the destruction or damage of countless homes, businesses, and infrastructure. Russia fired over 70 missiles, with many being ballistic, and launched more than 280 attack drones, of which over 260 were intercepted.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed targeted strikes on Ukrainian air bases, arms factories, and communication and logistics facilities. These included drone production, storage depots, a missile plant, an aircraft repair site, a component factory, and a chemical plant.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, six people, including children, were killed, and ten others wounded. Among those dead were a 6-year-old girl and boys aged 11 and 17. The children’s parents also died in the attack, but two other children were rescued from the ruins, according to Zelenskyy.
In Kyiv, Russian forces hit the capital with ballistic missiles, killing a 31-year-old man and wounding two others, which damaged residential buildings, a market, a garage cooperative, storage facilities, and vehicles.
A cruise missile strike in Lviv injured 34 people, including three children, and emergency teams are still looking through rubble.
In the Poltava region, a drone attack on company warehouses killed one person, officials reported.
Polish Airspace Breach Under Investigation
A Russian Kh-101 cruise missile reportedly entered Polish airspace, a violation of NATO territory, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reported. He stated that this underscores the urgent necessity for enhanced Ukrainian air defenses, which ensure broader European security.
Polish officials have yet to confirm Sybiha’s statement. A yet unidentified object was tracked in Polish airspace, leading to the deployment of an F-16 fighter jet. However, the object vanished from radar before being identified. A helicopter crew later found a potential impact site in Lublin province near Tarnawa-Kolonia, though Polish authorities have not verified any crash.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited the location Thursday to assess the situation.
Ukraine Strikes Russian Retailer Depots
Meanwhile, Russia claims its air defenses shot down 258 Ukrainian drones overnight. A depot owned by Wildberries, an online retailer, caught fire after being hit in Russia’s Penza region. This is another in a series of strikes on the company’s warehouses. Wildberries also reported its Udmurtia region warehouse was damaged by a Ukrainian drone, injuring one person and leading to the evacuation of 200 workers.
Ukraine accuses Wildberries of supplying items usable by the Russian military.
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