3 killed, over dozen injured as Russia hits Kyiv with ballistic missiles, drones

At least three people were killed and more than a dozen injured after Russia launched a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones targeting Kyiv overnight into Saturday, 1 August, local authorities said.

A five-storey residential building in the Solomianskyi district was damaged by falling debris, with people believed to be trapped inside and a fire breaking out in the courtyard, Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klitschko said in a post on Telegram.

People were also believed to be trapped in another residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district after a partial collapse of the first and second floors, Klitschko said. In the Darnytskyi district, warehouse buildings caught fire following the attack, he added.

The strike came just two days after a large-scale Russian missile and drone assault across Ukraine killed 10 civilians, injured more than 50 others and saw a Russian missile briefly enter Polish airspace.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged the United States and its Western allies to provide Ukraine with more Patriot air defence systems to help counter Russian ballistic missile attacks.

Late on Friday, Zelenskyy said he had spoken with US vice-president J.D. Vance and discussed his meeting earlier this week in Washington with President Donald Trump, describing it as "positive and productive".

'The Russian air strikes on our country continue, and air defence — specifically interceptors for Patriot systems against ballistic missiles — remains a top priority,' Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.

At a NATO summit in Ankara in July, Trump said the United States would grant Ukraine a licence to manufacture Patriot systems. However, he appeared to soften that position on Friday during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, saying he had not yet made a final decision on the proposal.

With AP/PTI inputs