Russia launched another wave of overnight missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, killing at least two people and injuring several others, as the war showed no signs of easing ahead of a high-stakes meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Ankara.The latest assault came just a day after one of the deadliest Russian attacks on Kyiv in recent months claimed 30 lives. The renewed strikes underscored Moscow’s continuing pressure on Ukraine even as Nato leaders prepared to discuss military support, regional security and the future course of the war.Kyiv was among the main targets overnight. AFP journalists in the Ukrainian capital reported hearing a powerful explosion even before air raid sirens were activated, followed by at least four more blasts as Russia intensified its bombardment.Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a missile strike set warehouses on fire in one district, while another attack ignited a blaze at a non-residential building elsewhere in the city.Ukraine’s State Emergency Service later said two people were wounded in the capital.The heaviest loss of life was reported from the southern Mykolaiv region, where a mother and daughter were killed after Russian forces struck with guided aerial bombs, according to regional military chief Vitaliy Kim. Two other people were injured in the same attack.Russian strikes also hit several other regions across Ukraine. Officials said four people were wounded in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region after attacks involving drones and artillery.In the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, two more people were injured in another Russian strike, according to the head of the regional military administration.Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, also came under attack, with Mayor Ihor Terekhov saying two people were wounded.Ukraine continued to target Russian territory as well. In Russia’s Saratov region, Governor Roman Busargin said one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack.The latest escalation comes ahead of the scheduled meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy on Wednesday, where the war is expected to dominate discussions alongside broader Nato security priorities.Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged Ukraine’s Western allies to provide more air defence systems and interceptor missiles, warning that the country is running short of the equipment needed to counter Russia’s growing use of ballistic missiles.While Ukraine has continued to intercept large numbers of Russian drones, officials say Moscow has increasingly relied on ballistic missile attacks against Kyiv, placing additional pressure on the country’s already stretched air defence network.
