Russia Fires Ballistic Missiles at Kyiv for Third Time in a Week

Russia fired ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight, officials said on Wednesday, marking the third attack on the Ukrainian capital in less than a week. The strikes occurred while the NATO summit was under way in Ankara. Ukraine's air defenses intercepted more than 80 percent of the 169 drones used during the overnight strikes across the country, according to air force data.

However, none of the five ballistic missiles were downed.

A woman was killed and two people were wounded in the Kyiv attack, the head of the city's military administration said. Kyiv's mayor reported fires in a storage area and a nonresidential building in two districts on either side of the Dnipro River. Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, also came under missile attack, local officials said, reporting damage to private homes and a church.

Moscow has increased its air operations against Ukraine in recent months as ground advances have largely stalled. Ukrainian attacks on Russian military logistics and oil facilities have caused widespread fuel shortages in Russia. Russian strikes on Kyiv and surrounding areas have killed 60 people in July alone.

Ukraine's president has repeatedly requested U.S.-made interceptors, the only weapons in Ukraine's arsenal capable of shooting down ballistic missiles. The president is expected to raise the issue during talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at the NATO summit on Wednesday.

Trump said on Tuesday in Ankara that he believed the war could be settled soon.