Russia launches deadly barrage on Kiev region on eve of NATO summi

KIEV

Russia struck Ukraine's Kiev region with ballistic missiles on July 6, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, authorities said, on the eve of a NATO summit in Türkiye.

"Nine deaths and 46 wounded have now been confirmed as a result of the Russian attack (including five wounded children)," Tymur Tkachenko, head of the capital's military administration, posted on Telegram. "Sadly, this is not the final toll. Rescue operations are still ongoing."

One fatality was recorded in the Bucha district, northwest of Kiev, earlier in the morning.

The assault was the second on the capital and its surroundings in less than a week and came as both sides increased long-range attacks, underlining the growing reach of the war more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to discuss the war on the sidelines of the summit in the Turkish capital Ankara, which begins Tuesday.

After that, Trump plans to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as Washington seeks to revive stalled peace efforts.

Ukraine has increasingly targeted energy facilities inside Russia in recent weeks in an effort to weaken the Kremlin's war effort.

It has also struck at Moscow-controlled territory in Ukraine that predates the current invasion.

In Russian-annexed Crimea, governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said a Ukrainian strike near Sevastopol had temporarily cut electricity supplies.

"Following an enemy attack on energy infrastructure near Sevastopol, our city was temporarily left without electricity," Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.

Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on state-backed Max that several waves of drones bound for the Russian capital were shot down by Russian air defences.

The White House said Trump would meet Zelensky on Wednesday during the NATO summit.

"The president's obviously getting together with him to talk about how we can end the war. That's been a priority of his for a long time," a senior U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said Trump would then "follow up" with Putin.

The meetings come with diplomatic efforts to end the war largely stalled.

Zelensky said Sunday that Ukrainian troops were continuing to fight for the strategic eastern town of Kostyantynivka, a gateway to key positions in the Donetsk region.

Russia claimed Friday to have captured the town, but Kiev dismissed the announcement as "a lie".

"Fighting is also continuing for Kostyantynivka, which (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin has already claimed as his own, but it is obvious that he will never dare to appear there," Zelensky said in a nightly address.

He also warned that Moscow was preparing fresh large-scale attacks ahead of the NATO summit.

Both Putin and Zelensky held separate phone calls with Trump on Saturday to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.