Wave of Russian attacks in Ukraine kills at least 21 people

2026-07-06 22:08:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A wave of Russian missiles and drones has struck across Ukraine, killing 21 people and severely damaging apartment blocks and other buildings, in an attack on the eve of a NATO summit in Turkey that has exposed widening gaps in Ukraine's air defenses.

Fifteen people were killed in Kiev, Russia's main target, and 56 others were injured in the attacks early Monday, according to the city's administrative head, Tymur Tkachenko.

Six other people were killed in the wider Kiev region and 21 others were injured, according to Mykola Kalashnyk, the head of the regional administration, and other emergency officials.

All of the ballistic missiles launched by Russia hit their targets, underscoring Kiev's need for more Patriot interceptor missiles - a point that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to reiterate at the NATO summit, which begins on Tuesday.

Zelenskyy noted that while Ukrainian forces had achieved "success" in countering the Russian drones and cruise missiles involved in the attack, they had been unable to shoot down the ballistic missiles due to a lack of Patriot interceptors.

Zelenskyy called for “strong decisions” from the NATO summit. “As long as Patriot missiles remain in the stocks of our allies, Russia is only encouraged to continue ‘occupying’ residential buildings. The United States and Europe have enough strength to stop this terror,” he said in a statement.

He called on US and European allies to leave the NATO summit in Ankara with "strong decisions" on strengthening Ukraine's air defenses, adding that as long as Patriot missiles are in allies' stockpiles, this only encourages "Russia to continue 'hitting' residential buildings."

At least 60 people were injured, according to Zelenskyy, as emergency workers searched through rubble looking for survivors in high-rise residential buildings in two locations that suffered direct hits in the capital.

The latest large-scale Russian attack came after the Kremlin confirmed on Monday that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had agreed in a weekend phone call that they would speak again "in the near future," suggesting they are likely to speak this week during or after the two-day NATO summit.

Trump plans to meet with Zelenskyy on Wednesday in Turkey, where he will attend a summit, a senior U.S. official said Sunday. The idea, the official said, was to make a new effort to end the war in Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that it used long-range weapons and drones to carry out a "massive" attack on Kiev and other locations. In a post on Telegram, the ministry said it had hit military and energy facilities in Kiev and the surrounding area, as well as military airfields in several other regions.