Zelensky Urges Allies to Release Interceptors After Unintercepted Barrage Kills 17 in Kyiv Region

President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday to press for urgently needed air defense interceptors after a devastating Russian missile and drone attack killed 17 people and wounded more than 40 in Kyiv and the surrounding region. The high-level call came just hours after Ukrainian air defenses failed to intercept any of the missiles Russia launched overnight – exposing one of the most dangerous gaps in the country’s defenses as Moscow intensifies ballistic attacks against Ukrainian cities.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Today, I spoke with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about the overall situation,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “Mark is well-informed about the threats, and we coordinated our efforts regarding countries that have the necessary missiles and the capacity to help.” “It is important to cut through all red tape and make the necessary political decisions,” he wrote. Ukraine destroys 98 drones – but none of the missiles Russia launched 115 drones alongside missiles in the overnight barrage. Ukraine’s Air Force reported intercepting 98 of the drones – roughly 85% of those launched. But preliminary Air Force figures showed that Ukraine failed to shoot down any of the missiles. The contrast highlights the increasingly serious challenge facing Ukrainian air defenses. Russia has increasingly launched short, concentrated missile salvos against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, placing additional pressure on Ukraine’s limited stocks of interceptor missiles. Other Topics of Interest Head of Ukrainian Search Unit Yukov Killed While Exhuming Bodies Oleksii Yukov, head of Ukraine’s search unit Platsdarm, spent more than 20 years locating and repatriating the bodies of fallen soldiers. Wednesday’s attack showed the human cost when those defenses are insufficient. One Kyiv resident described the growing sense of uncertainty after surviving another night of Russian bombardment. “We’ve gotten used to waking up thinking, ‘we were lucky today,’ and that’s very scary,” Natalia Reutska told AFP. Railway station, postal hub and retailers hit Eight people were killed in a Russian strike on a railway station on the eastern edge of Kyiv. The attack also hit major civilian logistics and commercial facilities. Ukrainian retail chain Epicentr said one of its logistics centers burned to the ground and an employee was killed. Three employees were killed at a postal sorting center. Online retailer Rozetka said it had been struck for the third time this week. In an attempt to justify the deadly strikes, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it had targeted transport and distribution hubs linked to Western weapons deliveries. But the casualties undercut Moscow’s narrative: those killed included railway workers, retail staff and postal employees carrying out ordinary civilian work. Kyiv has repeatedly urged Washington and European allies to provide additional Patriot systems and ammunition. “We coordinated our efforts regarding countries that have the necessary missiles and the capacity to help,” Zelensky wrote, framing the issue not as a question of global supply, but of political will. As the smoke clears over Kyiv’s shattered infrastructure, the stakes are stark: millions of Ukrainian lives depend, literally every day, on how quickly Western governments turn political support into interceptor missiles. Sevinj Osmanqizi is an experienced journalist who writes extensively for Kyiv Post on foreign policy, international security and geopolitics. Based in Washington, D.C., her work focuses on Ukraine, Russia’s war and the broader post-Soviet space.