Russia 'investing in ballistic missiles and escalation': Zelensky

KIEV

A man walks past as the body of local residents killed during an overnight Russian attack are removed, in Kiev, Ukraine, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo)

Russia is escalating its four-and-a-half-year invasion of Ukraine with deadly ballistic missile attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 20, urging a global response after a Russian overnight attack killed at least 13.

"While Moscow is investing in ballistic missiles and escalation, such strikes do not always receive the response they should from the world. And as long as Ukraine does not have enough anti-ballistic defense, Russia will not consider peace seriously," Zelensky said on social media.

The two countries have ramped up long-range attacks in recent months, driving up the civilian death toll on both sides in the four-and-a-half-year war.

The massive missile attack on Kiev struck residential areas and warehouses, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram.

A medical facility and an educational institution were also damaged, according to the city's military administration.

Klitschko later said the death toll in the capital had risen to 12, with 33 people wounded. The toll has been updated as 13 later.

An attack in the Brovary district of the broader Kiev region also killed one man and wounded another, Kiev regional governor Tymur Tkachenko said. It was unclear whether that death was included in Klitschko's tally.

"One industrial facility has been damaged. All relevant services are on site, working to extinguish the fire," Tkachenko added.

Ukraine's air force had warned of Russian "Kalibr" missiles in the vicinity of the village of Kagarlyk within the Kiev region, heading towards the capital.

The attacks also prompted security responses in neighboring NATO member states.

Poland's military command said it had mobilized aircraft and activated air defenses aimed at protecting its airspace, particularly in areas bordering Ukraine.

Romania's defense ministry said radar systems detected aerial targets near the Ukrainian border overnight, prompting the scrambling of two Spanish fighter jets deployed on NATO missions and a Romanian air force helicopter.

The ministry said a drone entered Romanian airspace near Galati before crashing in an unpopulated area in the country of Tulcea.

Russia also reported a large Ukrainian drone attack.

Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 250 drones had flown toward the Moscow region between Aug. 19 night and Aug. 20 morning, with most destroyed at a significant distance from the capital itself.

"Twenty-eight drones were destroyed in the Moscow region," Sobyanin said.

While Kiev has faced near-nightly attacks, Ukraine has also escalated its retaliatory strikes on Russia in recent months, in part to try to pressure Moscow into coming to the negotiating table to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.