Russian strikes kill 20, exposing Ukraine’s air defence shortage

• Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv killed at least 12 people and caused extensive damage amid Ukraine's shortage of US-made missile interceptors.
• Ukraine's air force intercepted most drones but failed to stop any of 23 ballistic missiles, highlighting urgent need for more Patriot missiles.
• President Zelensky urged NATO for strong support at the upcoming summit to help Ukraine defend itself against escalating Russian attacks.

KYIV – Russia hammered Ukraine with missiles and drones early on July 6, killing at least 20 people and exposing Kyiv’s critical shortage of US-made interceptors, officials said, just days after the deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital in 2026.

Rescuers were digging bodies from the rubble of a Kyiv high-rise ripped open in the overnight bombardment.

The latest attack came on the eve of a NATO summit where US President Donald Trump is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a renewed push for peace.

Ukraine’s military was unable to down any of the 23 ballistic missiles fired by Russia, according to air force data, reflecting its increasing vulnerability to Moscow’s strikes as stocks of its prized Patriot missiles run out.

Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for more interceptors – the only weapon in its arsenal that can shoot down ballistic projectiles, whose high velocity and steep flight path make them difficult to stop.

He called for “strong decisions” at the NATO summit in Turkey, which starts on July 7, to ensure Ukraine can defend itself.

Ukrainian air force data shows air defences shot down just four of 49 ballistic missiles in July.

“As long as Patriot missiles sit in our allies’ stockpiles, Russia is only encouraged to keep destroying residential buildings,” Zelensky said on social media platform X. “The US and Europe have the power to stop this terror.”

Ukraine intercepted 37 other missiles and more than 90 per cent of the 351 drones used during July 6’s attack, the air force said.

Search for survivors

At least 14 people were killed in Kyiv and six others in the surrounding region, officials said. Scores more were wounded.

Close to 30 residential buildings were significantly damaged in the attack, including a nine-storey block in the historic Podilskyi district which had been largely destroyed from the fifth level up, officials said.

A search operation dragged into the afternoon of July 6 as crews combed mountains of rubble and twisted metal in the multi-storey building whose top floors had been torn open.

Podilskyi, along with the eastern Darnytskyi district, were at the epicentre of the strikes, the General Prosecutor’s office said. In Podilskyi, rescue crews sifted through rubble as smoke rose from an apartment block with a gaping hole in its top floors.

Emergency workers used ladder trucks to reach upper floors while firefighters battled lingering flames.

Damage was also recorded in two other city districts.

Alyona, 22, was waiting to hear news about her 19-year-old friend Vika, who was missing after the attack.

“We’re sitting here and waiting until they retrieve them... She’s so kind, only 19 years old. She’s such a kind girl,” Alyona told Reuters, holding back tears, as she watched the rescue operation from a nearby playground.

Reuters television footage showed what appeared to be human remains trapped beneath concrete debris on an upper floor of a building.

The bodies of an entire family – two parents and their child – were pulled from the rubble there, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

The July 6 attack came days after this year’s deadliest strike on Kyiv, which killed 31 people on July 2.

Russia steps up air war

Russia’s defence ministry said on July 6 its forces had conducted a “massive” attack on Kyiv and other locations with long-range, high-precision air-, land-, sea-launched weapons and drones.

The ministry also said military and energy facilities were hit in Kyiv and its surrounding region, as well as military airfields in several other Ukrainian regions.

Moscow has escalated an air war in 2026 as its battlefield progress has slowed to a virtual crawl, hampered by Ukrainian long-range attacks on its military logistics and oil industry.

Ukraine has also retaken territory in some areas along the 1,200km front line, despite Russia encroaching on the strategically important eastern city of Kostiantynivka.

On July 4, Zelensky and Ukraine’s military denied a Russian claim that Kostiantynivka has been captured.

Taking Kostiantynivka, the southern-most part of a string of heavily fortified cities that comprise Ukraine’s so-called “fortress belt” in Donetsk region, would give Russian forces a foothold from which to push north, analysts say.

Ukraine launched new drone attacks on Russia, damaging the Baltic Sea ports of Vysotsk and Ust-Luga, a major oil exporting outlet, the Russian authorities said on July 6.

Ukrainian attacks also caused a power blackout in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Ukraine’s neighbour Poland, a NATO and EU member, briefly scrambled fighter ​jets as a preventive measure. REUTERS