Russian strikes near Ukrainian capital kill three, including child

Russian strikes have killed three people, including a child, in the region surrounding Kyiv, according to a Ukrainian official, as explosions rocked the capital and fires broke out across parts of the city.

The strikes hit three locations in the Boryspil district, just outside Kyiv, on Saturday, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the regional administration. Three more people were wounded.

The attack was the latest in a Russian bombardment that Ukraine’s depleted air defences have been increasingly unable to stop, exposing a widening gap between Russia’s ability to attack Ukrainian cities and Kyiv’s ability to thwart those attacks.

Fires broke out in two districts of the capital after an air raid alert sounded early on Saturday. Residents in central Kyiv described powerful explosions shaking buildings nearby.

Russian ballistic missiles travel at several times the speed of sound and dive towards their targets so steeply that Ukrainian defenders often have only seconds to respond.

Patriot air defence systems, supplied by the United States, remain the only weapons in Ukraine’s arsenal able to reliably intercept them. Officials in Kyiv have said they lack anywhere near enough batteries or interceptors to shield their cities properly.

Earlier this week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine received only a third as many air-defence missiles in the first half of this year as it had during the same period in 2025. He attributed the shortfall to the US-Israel war on Iran, which has drawn down global stockpiles of air defence interceptors.

Ukrainian government advisers estimate that Russia can now launch about 100 ballistic missiles a month, and officials have warned that Moscow is preparing to intensify its campaign further once winter sets in.

The latest Russian attacks come as Ukraine has repeatedly targeted sites deep within Russia’s territory, including two oil refineries in the last 24 hours. Ukraine also launched long-range drones at a warehouse of the online retailer Wildberries in the city of Ekaterinburg.

Attacks on Wildberries locations have been part of what Ukrainian officials have described as a campaign against logistics sites they say support Russia’s military.

Separately on Friday, the governor of Russian-occupied Crimea said that two people had been killed when a Ukrainian drone hit an apartment building.

New sanctions bill

Also on Friday, the US Senate passed a sweeping new sanctions bill targeting Russian energy exports, including 100 percent tariffs on countries still buying Russian oil and gas.

The bill, approved 86-11, was named after the late US Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime advocate of tougher measures against Russia.

The legislation would need to be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by President Donald Trump before it becomes law.

Zelenskyy welcomed the vote, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it would help “drain Russia’s means to continue a war it cannot win”.