- At least 12 people, including an Indian national, were killed in Russian air strikes near Kyiv
- Russian strikes damaged residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and Odesa regions
- Russian President Putin met Indian PM Modi at SCO Summit during ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine
At least 12 people, including an Indian national, have been killed, and more than a dozen others have been injured in Russia's overnight air assault in and around Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Moscow's large aerial assault on the wider Kyiv region came at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, for the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, where he met Prime Minister Modi and discussed regional and global issues.
The overnight strikes marked the sixth consecutive day of strikes in the Ukrainian capital, where authorities said residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were damaged, as emergency crews responded to fires at several locations.
Taking to social media, Zelenskyy said that since Monday evening, guided aerial bomb and drone strikes have continued against Odesa and the region.
"Overall, 12 people were killed, among them an Indian citizen, and dozens more were injured in the attack," he said.
"My condolences to everyone who has lost loved ones and those close to them."
According to the president, a large number of jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles were used in the attack, damaging residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.
The Ukrainian leader further alleged that Russia's strikes were calculated "to destroy lives as much as possible --and it succeeds only when air defence resources are insufficient."
Ukraine, which has been engaged in war with Russia since February 2022, is now facing a shortage of interceptor missiles, particularly US-made Patriot systems used against ballistic threats. Moscow has been exploiting this critical global shortage of air defence interceptor missiles, mostly attributed to the US war in Iran, and has ramped up airstrikes against Ukraine.
It has sharply increased both the number and intensity of its drone strikes on export infrastructure in the Odesa region, home to Ukraine's main Black Sea ports as well as the major Danube river ports of Reni and Izmail. Moscow attacks have also effectively blocked the seaports, which once handled 90 per cent of the country's exports, forcing Kyiv to divert cargo through Danube river ports with lower capacity and to railway crossings on the western border
