Kiev (Ukraine) (AFP) - At least 12 people were killed in Russian night strikes on Tuesday targeting Kiev and its surroundings, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his partners to provide his country with more defensive capabilities against ballistic missiles.

Published on: 09/01/2026 - 10:41

At night, the sounds of about ten successive explosions were heard, and flashes of light were seen in the sky of the Ukrainian capital, after a warning of a ballistic missile attack issued by the army.

More than four years after it began its invasion of Ukraine, Russia continues its strikes, using in particular ballistic missiles that Kiev faces difficulties in intercepting due to its lack of interceptor masts.

Zelensky said, "12 people were killed in total, including an Indian citizen, while dozens were injured," explaining that "a large number of drones and ballistic missiles were used in the attack."

He continued, "I am grateful to everyone who helps Ukraine obtain defensive capabilities" against ballistic missiles, stressing that "it is very important to increase these shipments during next fall."

In Boryspil, located about 30 kilometers from the capital, four people were killed and 13 injured as a result of the targeting of a “five-story residential building,” according to Zelensky.

In Kiev, Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced on social media that “eight people were killed and five were injured, including two children.”

According to the Kiev prosecutor's office, seven railway employees were killed.

The Ukrainian Air Force, which no longer gives the exact number of Russian missiles fired during the attacks, announced that it had intercepted five ballistic missiles, five cruise missiles, and two Banderol hybrid missiles.

She also indicated that Russia launched 218 marches of various types, explaining that it intercepted 187 of them.

The Russian Defense Ministry, for its part, announced that it had carried out “a major air strike at night using long-range, high-precision weapons and drones.”

Targeting a Russian port

Moscow announced that it targeted "enterprises affiliated with the military-industrial complex and fuel and energy companies in and around Kiev, engaged in the production of missile and drone systems and their components, as well as supplying the Ukrainian armed forces with fuel."

Russian forces also targeted a train depot in a suburb of the capital, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

The ministry announced that it had targeted facilities in the ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk.

Ukraine suffers from a shortage of interceptor missiles, particularly US Patriot missiles, to defend itself against Russia's growing ballistic missiles.

On Friday night, Russia targeted an ammunition depot in Mila, a suburb of Kiev, where drones and explosives were stored, in a residential area. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 38 people were killed, 20 others were injured, and 4 were missing.

In Russia, a fire broke out in the port of Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland, which was targeted by a drone attack, according to what the governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, announced on Tuesday.

وكتب دروزدينكو عبر تلغرام "رُصدت أضرار في منطقة ميناء أوست لوغا عقب الهجوم بمسيرة، فيما لا يزال حريق مشتعلا". He later pointed out that 52 Ukrainian drones were shot down in the region, without any casualties recorded.

It is noteworthy that this port, which is a major facility for Russia’s exports of fertilisers, oil and coal, has been the target of repeated attacks by Ukrainian marches in recent months.

© 2026 AFP

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