Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on European allies to accelerate deliveries of Patriot interceptor missiles after a Russian missile strike killed four people in Ukraine overnight.
Zelensky said Russian forces had targeted the Dnipro region, while Moscow’s defence ministry claimed its forces had hit a cargo ship carrying supplies for the Ukrainian military.
The vessel was reportedly sailing toward the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk in southwestern Ukraine when it came under attack.
Russian strikes also hit a logistics centre, distribution facility and logistics terminal in Kharkiv, according to the defence ministry.
Moscow said the sites were being used to store and distribute dual-use goods intended for Ukraine’s armed forces.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the claim. Images from Kharkiv showed firefighters working overnight at a shopping centre that was also struck by missiles.
At the same time, a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the border, killed two people and injured 13, local officials said on Sunday.
Belgorod regional governor Alexander Shuvayev said the assault damaged 30 apartment blocks, 35 vehicles, four houses, three administrative buildings, eight commercial properties and three social facilities.
Firefighters work overnight at a Kharkiv shopping centre that was hit by missiles, according to images from the scene.
Moscow said it had struck a cargo vessel bound for Chornomorsk while the ship was carrying supplies for the Ukrainian military.
A Ukrainian drone strike on Belgorod killed two people and wounded 13, Russian authorities said on Sunday.
Authorities also reported that one person was killed and another injured in a village near the Russian town of Shebekino.
In a statement on Sunday, Zelensky said Russia had launched roughly 1,600 guided bombs, 48 missiles—including ballistic weapons—and nearly 2,300 attack drones against Ukraine over the previous week.
“Unfortunately, almost every day, these brutal strikes leave people killed and injured,” he said.
“In the evening, Russian strikes on the Dnipro region killed four people. My condolences to their families and loved ones.”
He said 22 others were wounded, including an 11-year-old girl. In Vinnytsia, a Russian drone struck a high-rise residential building, injuring six people.
In Kharkiv, Zelensky said Russian forces first hit a home-improvement hypermarket before carrying out what he described as a deliberate double-tap attack on emergency workers responding to the scene. Several first responders were injured.
He added that overnight attacks also damaged a thermal power plant, electrical substations, coal mines, grain storage sites, shopping centres and a postal logistics hub. Damage was reported across nine regions.
“This is how Russia responds to diplomacy and efforts to end its isolation,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president urged Europe to “unblock” Patriot missile deliveries and said allies must continue supporting Ukraine’s combat aviation capability to defend against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.
In June it was announced that Britain would help Ukraine build their own Patriot air defence system in a bid to reduce Kyiv’s reliance on supplies from the US.
Washington has not been sending as many of the Patriot system’s Pac-3 missiles as usual with the US redirecting resources to the Middle East.
It has meant Moscow have been able to barrage populated areas in Ukraine in recent months due to a shortage of the surface-to-air defensive missiles that would typically intercept Russian attacks.
Mr Zelensky has repeatedly warned about the risks of this shortage, admitting in May that he is being ‘very persistent’ in pressing the US to provide his country with more Patriots.
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And now, Britain and other European countries are said to be filling in the gaps by working on an alternative anti-ballistic system – a move coordinated by Nato.
Last night’s exchanges between Russia and Ukraine came as Elon Musk said on Sunday that his company SpaceX has restricted Ukraine’s Starlink service.
Mr Musk had accused Kyiv of violating the terms of service by using it for military operations – but he denied responsibility for the issues Ukraine has faced with Starshield, the US-run defence counterpart.
The tech billionaire said: ‘Ukraine military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people.’
He said the loophole was closed last week, adding: ‘Starlink’s terms have remained consistent as a civilian system, not a means of killing. Violation of those terms will result in end of service.’
Mr Musk said Starlink remained ‘critical to the defense of Ukraine, as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or blown up, at least for now’.
‘Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately.’
On Friday, Donald Trump said that if there was still a problem with access to Starlink communication systems in Ukraine, he would get it straightened out.
Firefighters work at the site of an apartment building damaged during Russian drone strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Vinnytsia, Ukraine October 25
The US President told reporters at the White House that he had not spoken to SpaceX CEO Mr Musk about the matter but, if access was not fixed, he would speak to him.
Mr Zelensky said on Saturday: ‘The most important thing today is that Starlink and Starshield operations have been restored to the speeds we had before the restrictions.
‘The speeds are now where they need to be. The restoration began overnight, and by this morning, speeds were already sufficient.
‘This matters: for our frontline logistics, for defending Ukraine against jet-powered ‘shaheds.’
‘I thank all Americans and all our partners who took this seriously and truly helped – members of Congress, senators, all the media, the State Department, and the President. Protecting lives matters.’
While Mr Musk has shifted stance on Ukraine many times since Russia’s invasion in 2022, he has insisted that any disruption was the responsibility of the US government, not SpaceX.
Kyiv relies on the civilian Starlink satellite communications system and the military-grade Starshield version as it tries to defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks.
Ukrainian defence minister Yevgeniy Khmara said yesterday: ‘Monitoring systems are recording a recovery in the speed of Starlink/Starshield.
‘We are registering a speed of more than 400 km/h, the connection is stable.
‘This result is above all important for our front, for our soldiers, for the operation of drones, for logistics and for communications.
‘Right now, the speed is what we need. The restoration began during the night.
‘This is very important; it’s significant for our frontline logistics, for protecting Ukraine from rocket-powered drones.’
The satellite network has been at the centre of a row between Ukraine and the US.
Mr Zelensky had accused Washington of helping Russia by failing to warn Kyiv of incoming missile strikes and hobbling its military response by throttling Starlink’s speed.
Mr Khmara credited Zelensky’s ‘firm stance’ on the issue, judging that it was ‘bearing fruit’.
