Russian strikes on Kyiv kill nine as rescuers search rubble ahead of NATO summit in Turkey

Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least nine people on Monday morning, Ukrainian officials said, as emergency crews worked to pull survivors from rubble after explosions damaged buildings in the Ukrainian capital.

The BBC reported that rescuers were racing to find people trapped under the debris of partly destroyed apartment blocks following early-morning strikes. Kyiv’s top military administrator, Timur Tkachenko, said 46 people were injured, including at least five children, while Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said fires broke out at some apartment complexes.

The Monday attacks followed an earlier Russian strike on Kyiv on Thursday that killed about 30 people, according to the BBC. In the hours before Monday’s strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russian forces were preparing another “massive strike” on the city, citing intelligence that Kyiv would be hit again within the week.

The timing has drawn extra attention because it falls on the eve of a NATO summit in Turkey. Zelensky is expected to hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump during the Ankara meeting, according to reporting cited by the BBC. Kyiv’s warnings and evacuations in the days leading up to Monday’s attack included residents being sent to metro stations during air-raid alarms.

Russia said it targeted military and energy-related sites and described the attacks as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on power stations and energy facilities in Russian territory, the BBC reported. Separate reporting by CNN also said Russia described its Monday assault as involving ballistic missiles and drones and framed it as targeting military-industrial and fuel and energy sites in Kyiv.

After the Thursday barrage, tens of thousands of residents evacuated to metro stations as alarms sounded, according to the BBC. On Monday, officials again reported residential damage and ongoing rescue work, with images circulated showing wreckage and scorched vehicles across parts of the city.

Ukrainian authorities have not said whether the death toll will rise as rescuers continue searches, but Tkachenko’s figures and the ongoing combing of damaged buildings indicate a broad impact on civilian neighborhoods. The attack’s alignment with the NATO summit schedule is likely to keep security and air-defense coordination at the center of discussions among allied governments in Turkey.

Russian and Ukrainian statements about the targets continue to differ, with Ukraine emphasizing harm to civilian areas and Russia disputing that characterization by pointing to military and infrastructure targets. As NATO leaders meet in Ankara, the next development in Kyiv will be whether additional strikes occur while rescue and recovery operations continue under active shelling and missile alerts.