Zelenskyy touts air defenses as Kyiv targeted ahead of winter

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said air-defense forces repelled Russian attacks targeting Kyiv and other regions in the first such assault on the capital in more than two months as his country prepares for winter.

Kremlin forces launched ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as about 90 drones, the Ukrainian leader said in a post Wednesday on social media platform X. While no fatalities were reported, one person was injured in the surrounding region by falling debris, local authorities said.

“Every successful interception by our air defense saves lives and protects critical infrastructure,” said Zelenskyy, who has pleaded with allies for air-defense deliveries. “And the more successful our warriors are, the closer we move toward ending this war. This is how peace through strength is achieved.”

While the combined attack, which included ballistic missiles from North Korea, was not “massive,” Kremlin forces have stockpiled cruise missiles and continue to do so for the winter, Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the anti-disinformation body within Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram.

Ukraine is facing a difficult winter with half its energy infrastructure destroyed by Russian missile barrages. Grid operator Ukrenergo said it had imposed day-long limits on power consumption for industry in the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Odesa regions because of a temporary decrease in generation and imports.

Zelenskyy has stepped up pleas for more air-defense supplies to defend cities, but said this month that he had seen an increase in Western military shipments as part of approved aid packages. Two cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles and 37 out of 90 drones were shot down, with at least eight regions targeted, the Ukrainian military said on Telegram Wednesday.

Kremlin troops are continuing to press across the frontline in Ukraine’s east, as well as against Ukrainian units in Russia’s Kursk region. Kyiv’s troops repelled more than 160 clashes, including in the Kurakhove and Pokrovsk directions, the General Staff said Wednesday.