Russia launched a fresh ballistic missile attack on Kyiv overnight, setting off at least half a dozen explosions across the city centre and sparking fires in multiple districts, just hours after a coalition of willing nations announced a new initiative in Paris to bolster Ukrainian air defences.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed on Telegram that air-defence systems were activated shortly after midnight on Tuesday. Fires broke out in at least two neighbourhoods, including the Holosiiv district where two warehouses were struck and burned. Drone debris also ignited several cars in an eastern suburb. Separate Russian drone attacks wounded 11 people in Zaporizhzhia and six near Kharkiv.
The assault followed deadly strikes two days earlier. In response to Kyiv's air-defence needs, Ukraine will receive eight next-generation SAMP/T batteries and 16 Rafale fighter jets from France, along with licences to produce Aster-30 missiles, AASM-Hammer bombs, and Scalp cruise missiles domestically.