Russia launches fresh ballistic missile attack against Kyiv
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Explosions rang out in Kyiv the evening of June 25, as a fresh barrage of Russian ballistic missiles attacked the capital.
At least two people have been injured, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Shortly before 9 p.m. local time, Ukraine's Air Force issued a ballistic missile warning. Minutes later, Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground reported multiple rounds of explosions and Klitschko warned that air defense units were repelling an attack against the capital.
According to preliminary information, falling missile debris caused a fire in a warehouse in the city's Darnytskyi district. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said firefighters were working to suppress the blaze.
The Air Force issued another ballistic missile warning at around 1 a.m. on June 26. Explosions were reported soon after in Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast.
Aerial alerts were also activated in regions far from the front lines, including western Ukraine's Rivne Oblast.
The latest ballistic missile strike comes less than two weeks after Russia's massive combined attack on June 15 — an attack that killed five people in Kyiv and left the historic Kyiv Pechersk Lavra in flames.
Kyiv responded with unprecedented attacks on Moscow, hitting the Russian capital and its main oil refinery with waves of drones on June 16 and 18. The June 18 strike was the largest drone attack on Moscow of the full-scale war.
The attacks — which led the Moscow Oil Refinery to suspend operations for an indefinite period, exacerbating a growing fuel crisis — prompted threats of retaliation from the Kremlin.
As Russian troops' gains on the front line have stalled, Moscow has increasingly relied on ballistic missiles to inflict maximum damage in large-scale aerial strikes on Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine's ability to protect its cities from Russian ballistic missiles depends heavily on its dwindling supply of Patriot interceptors — ammunition for the U.S.-made air defense system that remains the only weapon to have proven effective against ballistic threats.
