Over this past week, Russia used around 2,200 attack drones against Ukraine, more than 1,730 guided aerial bombs, and 106 missiles of various types, nearly half of them ballistic. Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Dnipro, as well as our border and frontline communities, are under fire almost every day. There was a massive strike on Kyiv that claimed the lives of 31 people and injured another 102, including four children. My condolences to their families and loved ones.
Every day, we must protect lives from these attacks. We already have the capabilities to effectively shoot down more than 90% of drones, but, unfortunately, not all ballistic missiles are intercepted. And it is ballistic missiles that Moscow is now leaning on to continue its war. And every day, we are working to strengthen air defense for Ukraine: through PURL and through our bilateral contacts with countries that have not joined PURL but do have the missiles we so urgently need. We are also strengthening our air defense through joint work with Europeans on anti-ballistic capabilities. We need answers from our partners to our requests for air defense. Every package of interceptor missiles provides real protection for lives. I thank all leaders who are finding ways to help in this particular area.
Last night, Kyiv came under a massive Russian attack. Russia launched 68 missiles and 351 attack drones. Response efforts are still underway. Damage has been recorded at more than 10 locations across the city, including residential buildings. All necessary services are on the ground, doing everything possible to rescue people and provide assistance to everyone who needs it. So far, 64 people have been rescued, including two children. As of now, it has been confirmed that, tragically, eleven people were killed in this attack. My condolences to their families and loved ones. Around 60 more people were injured.
In the Kyiv region, sixteen people were injured and three people were killed. My condolences to their families and loved ones. A fire is still burning at the site of the missile strike in Vyshneve. People are being evacuated from a residential area. More than 400 first responders and police officers have been deployed to deal with the aftermath of the attack.
Our warriors performed well today in intercepting drones and cruise missiles, but unfortunately not Russian ballistic missiles. And the reason lies in the insufficient supply of interceptor missiles. It is critically important that the world – first and foremost the United States and our European partners – come out of the NATO Summit in Ankara with strong decisions in support of our air defense, and thus the protection of ordinary people’s lives. As long as Patriot missiles remain in our allies' stockpiles, Russia is only encouraged to keep “vanquishing” residential buildings. The United States and Europe have enough strength to stop this terror.