Russia pounds Kyiv and Odesa with ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones

Russia launched ballistic missiles and dozens of jet-powered drones at Kyiv overnight, Ukraine's air force said Tuesday, in a continuing campaign to pressure the capital and other cities through relentless bombardment.

The attack employed new jet-powered drones that fly too fast and too high for Ukraine's ground-based air defences to intercept. Kyiv is racing to develop faster interceptor drones, but manufacturing and deploying new weapons takes months.

Russia's ballistic missiles have also penetrated Ukrainian defences as Kyiv faces a critical shortage of US-made Patriot interceptor missiles — the only reliable system for stopping such attacks. Patriot stockpiles are low, largely because of the Iran war, and Ukraine has received only small numbers this year despite repeated appeals from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine's air force said it shot down two ballistic missiles overnight, suggesting some additional Patriots had recently arrived.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces hit data processing centres in Kyiv that Moscow claims are used by the Ukrainian military, which is increasingly deploying artificial intelligence on the battlefield. Other targets included facilities in the capital and Kyiv region where drones and cruise missiles were stored, an electrical substation, a drone manufacturing plant, and port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region.

Ukrainian authorities said the barrage struck apartment buildings, houses and public transport in Kyiv, wounding one person. In Odesa, the attack wounded eight people and damaged residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, a school, an animal shelter and port facilities.

Air defence needs are mounting as winter approaches, a season that in past years has brought intensified strikes on Ukraine's power grid, depriving civilians of heating and running water.

Ukraine has not remained passive. Its long-range drones have targeted Russian missile and drone manufacturing plants and launch sites, as well as oil refineries, causing fuel shortages. The two armies remain largely deadlocked along the long front line in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said late Monday that another 10,000 North Korean troops are heading to Russia, adding to the 8,000 he said are already there. Russia and North Korea have made no secret of their military cooperation.