Ukrainian emergency workers battle a fire in Kyiv after Russian missile and drone attacks [Image by Ukraine Emergency Services]
(The Post News) – Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukraine overnight killed at least four people and wounded 16, officials said on Saturday. The fatal attacks were in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk region and ignited fires, set houses ablaze, and supported President Volodymyr Zelensky’s calls for stricter sanctions and long-range missiles from Western nations.
In Kyiv, two were killed and nine were injured when Russian forces carried out a ballistic missile strike in the early morning hours on Saturday, according to Timur Tkachenko, the head of the city’s military administration. Three of the dead were taken to the hospital, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported.
A fire broke out in a non-residential building, while windows on other buildings nearby were broken by rubble from hit missiles. “Explosions in the capital. The city is under a ballistic attack,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram as the bombings continued.
Two more people died and seven were hurt in Dnipropetrovsk, according to acting governor Vladyslav Haivanenko. He claimed that residential apartment houses, private homes, a shop, and several cars were targeted in the attack.
The Air Force of Ukraine said Russia launched nine missiles and 62 drones overnight. Four missiles and 50 drones were shot down by air defences, preventing even greater damage.
Across the border, Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that its air defence systems had shot down 121 Ukrainian drones overnight, an escalation of the two countries’ drone war.
Zelensky Pushes for Stronger Western Support
There was a nighttime shelling when Zelensky was meeting European leaders in London, where a summit was hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to mobilise further support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Moscow.
We are choking financing for Russia’s war machine,” Starmer said after the meeting. More than 20 nations pledged to “deter Russian oil and gas from the global market,” with the aim of cutting off funding for the Kremlin war efforts.
The U.S. and Britain recently slapped sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, and the European Union targeted Moscow’s liquefied natural gas exports. Zelensky urged the U.S. to sanction the entire Russian oil sector and asked for long-range missiles once more to target military installations far inside Russia.
“Only constant pressure can stop the aggression,” Zelensky told reporters.
No new commitment to long-range missiles emerged from the summit, though. U.S. President Donald Trump has so far deferred to Zelensky’s requests for U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles, although he said he is “considering all options.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened this week that any Ukrainian attacks on Russian positions using Western-supplied long-range missiles would trigger an “overwhelming” response.
Leaders at the London summit discussed fresh ways to protect Ukraine’s energy system from nearly daily Russian bombing sorties before winter. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof attended in person, with French President Emmanuel Macron participating via video.
EU leaders also pledged to provide two years of financing aid to Kyiv, but did not approve the spending of €140 billion of frozen Russian assets on Ukraine’s security needs.
Starmer said that allies have prepared a “definitive plan for the rest of the year,” including hitting Russia’s sovereign assets to cover Ukraine’s security needs, but released no further details.
Ukrainians Brace for Another Harsh Winter
As the war nears its fourth winter, civilians across Ukraine face increasingly dire living conditions.
In Odesa, resident Yana Kolomiets said power, heat, and water cuts are now the norm. “The most frightening thing is that the Russians have started using guided missiles in our area,” she said.
In Kyiv, Tetiana Dankevych reported regular blackouts and water cuts as “making life very difficult.”
“I don’t think this war will be over soon,” she said.
Zelensky cautioned that Moscow is going to “make the cold winter a tool of torture”, but ensured that Ukraine “will not crack.”
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