A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack struck Kyiv and its outskirts overnight into Monday, killing at least 28 people and wounding more than 100, according to Ukrainian authorities. The assault, which came days after another strike killed over 30 in the capital, unfolded on the eve of a NATO summit in Ankara where President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to press allies for air-defence support. Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia fired 68 missiles and 351 drones; while most cruise missiles and drones were intercepted, all 29 ballistic missiles reached their targets, exposing what Kyiv describes as a critical shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles.

Speaking after the attack, President Zelensky called the strike “brutal” and said it demonstrated that Russia’s tactics remain “to inflict as much pain and damage as possible.” He urged NATO leaders to deliver “strong decisions” on air defence, arguing that it is “simply absurd” that production of anti-ballistic systems has not been scaled up to protect civilians. Ukrainian officials, including air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, stated that Russia is deliberately exploiting the deficit of Patriot interceptors, which are the only systems capable of downing ballistic projectiles. Zelensky also renewed a request for a licence to manufacture Patriot missiles domestically, a step that, according to Swedish defence analyst Johan Huovinen, would take years to yield results.

In Washington, President Donald Trump told reporters that a resolution to the conflict is “getting closer than people realise” and that both President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky “want to make a deal.” Trump confirmed a lengthy phone call with Putin on 4 July and a subsequent conversation with Zelensky, and said he would discuss Ukraine at the NATO summit. The Kremlin, through spokesman Dmitry Peskov, stated that Moscow sees no change in the US position and that Putin and Trump agreed to maintain contact. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Trump on the summit’s sidelines, while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged allies to ensure Ukraine “gets what it needs.”

The Russian defence ministry said its “massive strike” targeted military-industrial facilities, including drone and missile component factories, in Kyiv and the surrounding region. The claims could not be independently verified. Meanwhile, Ukraine continued its campaign of long-range drone strikes inside Russia, hitting an oil refinery in Omsk, Siberia—one of the deepest such attacks of the war—and triggering fuel shortages in several Russian regions, according to Ukrainian and Western officials. The summit in Ankara is expected to produce decisions on further military aid, with a bilateral meeting between Trump and Zelensky scheduled for Wednesday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would “keep increasing the pressure until Russia ends the bloodshed,” while analysts in European capitals note that the outcome of the Trump–Zelensky talks will be closely watched for signals on the durability of US support.