Four killed, 20 injured in Russian airstrikes as Zelenskyy pleads for air defence systems

Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight into Saturday killed at least four people and wounded 20, officials said, and prompted fresh pleas from Ukraine's president for Western air defence systems.

In the capital, Kyiv, two people were killed and 13 were wounded in a ballistic missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, Kyiv's police said. A fire broke out in a non-residential building in one location, while debris from intercepted missiles fell in an open area at another site, damaging windows in nearby buildings, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said.

"Explosions in the capital. The city is under ballistic attack," Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said such attacks intensified Ukraine's need for Patriot defence systems.

"It is precisely because of such attacks that we pay special attention to Patriot systems — to be able to protect our cities from this horror. It is critical that partners who possess relevant capability implement what we have discussed in recent days," he wrote on X.

"America, Europe and the G7 countries can help ensure that such attacks no longer threaten lives," he said. Zelenskyy is hoping Ukraine can purchase 25 Patriots from the US to fortify its air defences, particularly in cities.