Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv hit with ballistic missiles, as civilians killed by drone strikes in Russia

What Happened

A ballistic missile attack targeted Kyiv early Sunday, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko warning residents to remain in shelters and reporting air defence operations, explosions, and flashes in the sky. On Saturday, Russian strikes killed two people in Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions, while Ukrainian attacks on Volgograd, Belgorod, and Russian-controlled Horlivka killed three, according to regional authorities. A Ukrainian drone strike in Bryansk region killed two people in a car near the border, acting governor Yegor Kovalchuk said. Russia’s defence ministry claimed 124 Ukrainian drones were downed over Russian regions between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. More than 40 drone strikes and artillery fire killed one and injured one near Nikopol, according to Dnipropetrovsk governor Oleksandr Ganzha. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met on Friday at Putin’s Valdai residence, with discussions expected to cover the war in Ukraine, following a Ukrainian warning to Lukashenko to remove Russian-used equipment from Belarus.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The ballistic missile attack on Kyiv and continued cross-border strikes underscore the persistent high-intensity nature of the conflict, with civilian casualties mounting on both sides and long-range drone warfare becoming a daily reality. The Putin–Lukashenko meeting highlights Belarus’s role as a staging ground for Russian operations, directly relevant to the war’s trajectory and Ukrainian warnings about military assets in Belarus.

Watch For

Potential escalation if ballistic missiles breach Kyiv’s defences; further cross-border drone and artillery exchanges in Belgorod, Bryansk, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk; and outcomes of Putin–Lukashenko talks that could signal new Belarusian military support or equipment transfers to Russian forces.