MASSIVE RUSSIAN BALLISTIC MISSILE ASSAULT HITS KYIV AMID UKRAINE AIR DEFENSE CRUNCH

Sun 19 July 2026:

The hours-long attacks on Kyiv early on Sunday killed one person and injured at least 15, according to local officials. They spanned six districts of the city, Ukraine’s national police said.

Russia’s strikes on Sunday sparked fires across Kyiv, damaging residential buildings, offices, industrial sites, a dormitory and vehicles, according to the State Emergency Service.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s air force said it downed 18 of 41 missiles launched by Russia overnight.

Ukraine also said its forces struck two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, continuing its strategy of trying to starve the Russian-occupied peninsula Crimea of fuel and supplies by targeting shipping.

The latest bombardment highlights mounting challenges for Ukraine in its fifth year of war as it weathers almost daily Russian attacks with a shortage of Patriot air defence missiles, which are its best chance of downing ballistic missiles.

Russia’s strikes on Sunday sparked fires across Kyiv, damaging residential buildings, offices, industrial sites, a dormitory and vehicles, according to the State Emergency Service.

Russia has launched several large-scale waves of attacks on Kyiv in July, using ballistic missiles on at least seven occasions at a time when Ukraine is short of Patriot interceptor missiles.

United States President Donald Trump said he is prepared to grant Ukraine licences to produce Patriot interceptor missiles domestically, potentially bolstering its defences, but the details and timeline of the move remain unclear.

Rescue workers pulled four people from a burning private home in the Sviatoshynskyi district while in the Shevchenkivskyi district they rescued residents from a burning three-storey building. A fire in a nonresidential building was also contained. One person was later found dead.

Firefighters also responded to blazes in the Solomyanskyi, Desnianskyi and Dnipro districts.

Ukraine said its forces struck two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, continuing its strategy of trying to starve the Russian-occupied peninsula Crimea of fuel and supplies by targeting shipping.

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Cabinet reshuffle

Domestic tensions are also high due to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s removal of his defence minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle, which has sparked protests on the streets and dismay among many Ukrainian soldiers.

Some critics said his decision to replace Mykhailo Fedorov just as Ukraine seemed to be gaining momentum in the war was the worst mistake of his presidency.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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