RUSSIAN MISSILE AND DRONE STRIKES KILL 4 IN UKRAINE AS ZELENSKYY URGES STRONGER AIR DEFENSES. (PHOTO).

 Russian missile and drone strikes kill 4 in Ukraine as Zelenskyy urges stronger air defenses

Overnight missile and drone strikes by Russia killed at least four people and injured 20 across Ukraine on Saturday, prompting renewed calls from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for advanced Western air defense systems.

In Kyiv, two people were killed and 13 others wounded in a ballistic missile attack, according to local police. A fire broke out in a non-residential building, while debris from intercepted missiles struck open areas, damaging windows in nearby structures, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported. “Explosions in the capital. The city is under ballistic attack,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, two more people were killed and seven wounded, with apartment buildings and private homes damaged, acting regional Governor Vladyslav Haivanenko said. Ukraine’s air force reported Russia launched nine missiles and 62 drones, of which four missiles and 50 drones were intercepted. Meanwhile, Russia claimed its air defenses shot down 121 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Zelenskyy emphasized the urgent need for Patriot defense systems to protect Ukrainian cities. “It is precisely because of such attacks that we pay special attention to Patriot systems — to be able to protect our cities from this horror,” he wrote on X. He urged the U.S., Europe, and G7 nations to act to prevent future threats and is seeking to acquire 25 Patriot systems to bolster air defenses.

The Ukrainian president also called for expanded U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and long-range missiles to target Russia. He recently met in London with European leaders to discuss military support, air defense enhancements, and measures to protect Ukraine’s power grid as winter approaches. Discussions included supplying Kyiv with longer-range missiles, including Tomahawks, for potential strikes deep inside Russia.

Meanwhile, Putin’s envoy for investment, Kirill Dmitriev, suggested that Russia, the U.S., and Ukraine were “quite close to a diplomatic solution” to the conflict. Plans for a potential summit in Budapest between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are reportedly postponed but not canceled. Russian officials, however, have rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire.