Russia fired missiles and drones into apartment buildings in Kiev for the second time in a week on July 6, killing at least 14 people on the eve of a crucial NATO summit, authorities said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the alliance to take "strong decisions" on boosting Ukraine's air defenses following the strike, which came just days after another Russian attack killed more than 30 people in Kiev.
The European Union also said that Ukraine needs air defense reinforcements.
The morning strike punched a crater into a multi-storey apartment block in the Ukrainian capital, ripping its top floors into two.
AFP reporters heard more than 10 explosions during a ballistic missile alert during the night, with flashes in the sky as the blasts rang out.
It was the second attack in a week in which Russia deployed the hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles, triggering Zelensky's desperate new appeal for allies to send advanced missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems.
He is to discuss the war with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, which begins today..
"It is critically important that the world — first and foremost the United States and our European partners — come out of the NATO Summit in Ankara with strong decisions in support of our air defense, and thus the protection of ordinary people's lives," he said on social media.
At least 14 people were killed in Kiev and the surrounding region, with around 60 more wounded, he said.
Russia fired 68 missiles and 351 attack drones, he added.
Russia's defense ministry said it had carried out a "massive strike" using missiles and drones against what it described as "military-industrial enterprises," fuel and energy complex facilities in several Ukrainian regions.
Around 30 residential buildings in Kiev were hit, with rescuers still sifting through the rubble hours after the attack, officials said.
Zelensky said Ukraine's army had shot down the Russian drones and cruise missiles, but had "insufficient supply of interceptor missiles" to stop the ballistic missiles.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the attack showed that Ukraine "urgently" needs more air defense and that this would be discussed at the NATO meeting.
Russia's army said its forces also shot down more than 500 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on state-backed Max that several waves of the drones were bound for the Russian capital.
Kiev has increasingly targeted energy facilities inside Russia in recent weeks in an effort to weaken the Kremlin's war effort, triggering fuel shortages across the country.
Both sides had vowed fresh attacks after Russia struck apartment buildings in Kiev last week, killing more than 30 people, including entire families.
U.S.-led attempts to broker an end to the more than four-year war have gone nowhere.
The White House said Trump would meet Zelensky towommor during the NATO summit in a big to invigorate diplomacy.
"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 Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin chief has refused to back down on hardline territorial and political demands that Ukraine and its allies say amount to capitulation.
On the front, Moscow's army said last week it had captured the strategic eastern town of Kostyantynivka, though Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were still fighting for the stronghold.
