Russian barrage kills 12 in Kyiv region including Indian national as Ukraine’s air-defence strain worsens

New Delhi: Russia launched another large-scale drone and missile attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region early on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people and injuring several others. The assault marked the sixth consecutive day of strikes on the Ukrainian capital and intensified pressure on the country’s increasingly stretched air-defence network.

Eight people were killed in Kyiv, where ballistic missiles struck a railway depot and other railway installations, according to Ukrainian emergency and railway authorities. Six of the dead were employees of the state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia, while another railway worker was taken to hospital.

Four more people were killed and 13 injured at Boryspil, east of Kyiv, after residential buildings and other sites were hit, the regional authorities said. An Indian national and three children were among those killed across the Kyiv region, although officials had not immediately disclosed their identities or other details.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia had used a substantial number of jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles in the overnight operation. Fires erupted at several locations, while repeated explosions and prolonged air-raid warnings disrupted normal life across the capital and its suburbs.

Ukraine’s air force said the attacks were concentrated on Kyiv, Odesa and nearby areas, with strikes or falling debris recorded at 28 locations. It claimed to have intercepted five Iskander ballistic missiles, two Banderol and five Kalibr cruise missiles, along with 187 of the 218 drones launched during the barrage.

The increasing use of jet-powered drones presents a more difficult challenge for Ukrainian air defences because the aircraft fly considerably faster than propeller-driven Shahed-type systems. Their speed shortens the time available to detect, track and engage them, particularly when several weapons approach from different directions alongside cruise and ballistic missiles.

Ballistic missiles pose a separate and more acute problem because Ukraine relies heavily on the US-made Patriot system to intercept them. Kyiv has warned that its stock of Patriot interceptors is critically low, raising concern that Russia is seeking to exploit gaps in coverage before the winter months.

The Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, urged Kyiv’s partners to provide additional air-defence equipment and increase economic pressure on Moscow. He also called for renewed discussions on using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s military and reconstruction requirements.

The overnight operation extended beyond the capital, with Russian forces also striking port, energy and export infrastructure in the southern Odesa region. A ferry checkpoint at Orlivka on the Romanian border was damaged and temporarily closed, while thousands of households were left without electricity.

Repeated attacks on Odesa’s Black Sea and Danube facilities have disrupted routes that are central to Ukraine’s agricultural exports. The damage has forced Kyiv to divert more cargo to lower-capacity river ports and railway crossings, increasing costs and creating potential consequences for international grain supplies.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had targeted military and energy facilities in Kyiv, Odesa and their surrounding regions. Moscow’s description of the targets could not be independently verified, while Ukrainian officials said homes, railway facilities and civilian export infrastructure had been damaged.

Ukraine, meanwhile, continued its own long-range campaign against Russian oil and logistics facilities, with fires reported near the Baltic port of Ust-Luga and damage recorded in the Samara region. An attack in Russia’s Belgorod region also killed a civilian, according to the local authorities.

The latest escalation came as diplomatic attempts to halt the war remained stalled over territorial and security disagreements. The prime minister, Narendra Modi, told the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, during a telephone conversation that the conflict must end for the sake of humanity, while Zelenskyy separately discussed a prospective visit to Ukraine with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.