Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight into Saturday killed at least four people and wounded 20, officials said, and prompted fresh pleas from Ukraine’s president for western air defence systems.
In the capital, Kyiv, two people were killed and 13 were wounded in a ballistic missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, Kyiv’s police said.
A fire broke out in a nonresidential building in one location, while debris from intercepted missiles fell in an open area at another site, damaging windows in nearby buildings, Ukraine’s state emergency service wrote on the message app Telegram.
“Explosions in the capital. The city is under ballistic attack,” the mayor, Vitali Klitschko, wrote on Telegram during the onslaught.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, two people were killed and seven wounded, the acting regional governor, Vladyslav Haivanenko, said, adding that apartment buildings and private homes were damaged in the strikes.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched nine missiles and 62 drones, of which four missiles and 50 drones were intercepted.
In Russia, the defence ministry said its air defences shot down 121 Ukrainian drones over Russia overnight.
Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would not schedule any talks with Vladimir Putin unless it was clear that the Russian leader was serious about making a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
“I’m going to have to know that we’re going to make a deal. I’m not going to be wasting my time,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One as he headed to Asia.
On Wednesday, the US slapped sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies and complained that his talks with Putin over the conflict in Ukraine “don’t go anywhere”.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Saturday that Russia’s attacks intensified Ukraine’s need for Patriot defence systems.
“It is precisely because of such attacks that we pay special attention to Patriot systems – to be able to protect our cities from this horror. It is critical that partners who possess relevant capability implement what we have discussed in recent days,” he wrote in English on X.
“America, Europe and the G7 countries can help ensure that such attacks no longer threaten lives,” he said.
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As plumes of smoke from the attack in Kyiv rose in the background, Ukrainians went about their day shopping in a popular nearby farmers’ market unhindered, having become accustomed to frequent Russian air assaults.
“We didn’t know the attack was right here, but even when we figured it out we still came. Despite the Russians’ strike, there are still a lot of people here who need to eat. I knew that people would come to shop,” said Halyna Stetsiura, 54.
The fruit and vegetable vendor arrived very early in the morning to prepare her stall, while the attacks were still under way.
Serhi Lihus, 53, a beekeeper, said he was driving to the market when he heard the explosions. “It was still dark, approximately 6.30, everything was on fire,” he said. He still showed up to the market to sell his honey.
Svitlana Shyshlovska, 40, a customer, said despite the threat of attacks, “you still need to buy food to have something to eat and such markets are not an everyday occasion”.
Zelenskyy is hoping Ukraine can buy 25 Patriots from the US to fortify its air defences, particularly in cities.
