Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv early on Saturday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 30, local officials said. The barrage came just hours after President Trump backed away from a promise to let Ukraine manufacture U.S.-designed Patriot missiles — one of the few air defense systems capable of intercepting the very weapons used in the overnight attack.
Two days earlier another Russian air assault also killed nine people, as Moscow escalates its attacks in an apparent effort to exploit Ukraine’s dwindling air defenses.
Ukraine has long warned that it is running short of air defense interceptors, especially Patriot missiles, the most reliable weapon Western allies have given Kyiv to counter Russian ballistic strikes. Against that backdrop, Mr. Trump’s promise last month to let Ukraine produce Patriot missiles under license had raised hopes that Kyiv could eventually replenish its stockpiles, though experts cautioned it would take quite some time before production could begin.
Mr. Trump’s backtracking on Friday — which he justified by saying he did not want to give away a powerful technology that may one day be used against the United States — is likely to deal a blow to morale in Ukraine. Officials in the country had viewed the decision to license Patriot production as a sign of a warming relationship with Washington.
The reversal was especially surprising as it came shortly after President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine met Mr. Trump at the White House on Tuesday, saying the two leaders had “discussed licenses for Patriot interceptor production.” The same day, Mr. Zelensky also met with executives from Lockheed Martin, one of the U.S. manufacturers of the Patriot system.
“We spoke about our joint capabilities related to Patriots and other systems. Our teams are already working on specific solutions to move to co-production as quickly as possible and increase our capabilities to protect lives,” Mr. Zelensky wrote on social media.
Ukrainian officials had not commented on Mr. Trump’s new stance as of Saturday morning.
The consequences of Ukraine’s shortage of air defense systems were unmistakable on the streets of Kyiv early on Saturday. An acrid smell of smoke hung over the city center, the result of fires that had broken out across the Ukrainian capital, as rescue crews clawed through the rubble of collapsed buildings in search of survivors.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said two partially collapsed apartment buildings had trapped residents inside, complicating rescue efforts. “It was a horrific night for Kyiv,” he wrote on social media.
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