Deadly Russian strikes hammer Kyiv on eve of Trump trip to critical NATO summit

By Victoria Butenko, Max Saltman, Helen Regan, CNN

(CNN) — Ukraine’s capital Kyiv came under a deadly Russian attack early Monday morning, on the eve of a critical NATO summit in Turkey that US President Donald Trump plans to attend.

Explosions have been heard across the city center and people remain trapped in damaged multi-story residential buildings, as the combined attack, involving ballistic missiles and drones, continues.

At least three people were killed and seven others wounded, as buildings were impacted and fires broke out in several districts of the city, officials said.

Rescuers evacuated residents, including children, from the upper floors of a damaged building in the Podilskyi district early Monday, but the search for those still trapped is ongoing, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

Air raid sirens were activated throughout the city, sending many residents into shelters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned just hours earlier that Moscow was “preparing a new massive strike,” and the assault comes just days after a ferocious Russian attack on Kyiv killed 30 people last Thursday –– the third deadliest since the war began.

“This is typical of Putin: right after America’s Independence Day and before the NATO Summit in Ankara,” Zelensky said Sunday in a post on X ahead of the attack.

Russia’s war in Ukraine will form the backdrop to the Turkey summit, which starts on Tuesday.

Trump, who will be in Ankara, offered again to help end the war on Sunday, during a nearly 90 minute call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Russia’s foreign ministry. The US president also spoke to Zelensky on Saturday.

He had vowed to solve the war within 24 hours of taking office again, but more than 500 days into his second term, the administration has yet to find a path to peace between the neighbors, despite multiple attempts.

Russian forces have stepped up efforts to take more of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region – a key objective for the Kremlin, and Ukraine’s cities face near-nightly attacks from Moscow’s drones and missiles.

Ukraine has also recently ramped up missile and drone attacks against key infrastructure deep inside Russian territory, including oil refineries, ports and military factories.

The lethality of last Thursday attack on Kyiv displayed the challenge Ukrainian officials face in protecting its capital as Russia innovates ––increasingly deploying jet-powered drones, like the Geran-4 UAV, which fly too fast for Kyiv’s mobile fire groups and can only be shot down with ground-to-air missiles or fighter jets.

The Ukrainian president repeated his plea to US and European allies for missiles for Patriot systems on Sunday, saying “any delay with missiles for our air defense – missiles for Patriots – means the loss of lives, and it encourages Russia to continue the war.”

“Missiles for Patriots are needed not in warehouses right now, but in Patriot units in Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky sees Patriots as key for shooting down Russia’s arsenal, which has included ballistic missiles, loitering munitions and the jet-powered drones. The latest versions of Patriot interceptors are capable of engaging incoming short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at altitudes up to 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) and distances of up to 35 kilometers.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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