Zelenskyy cites 16-missile strike on Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles at Ukraine during the night of October 26 and 27.

The attack involved 280 drones, including 69 jet-powered Shahed units and Gerbera attack aircraft, along with Parodiya decoys. Kyiv was the primary target, sustaining hits on the Pivdennyi Bridge and other urban infrastructure. Other affected regions included Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Chernihiv, Sumy, Donetsk, Kherson, and Chernivtsi oblasts. Zelenskyy noted that Russian forces targeted energy sector assets and logistics hubs across these areas.

Emergency services reported 12 injuries from a strike on a university campus in Kyiv on the evening of October 26. Five of the injured were students or university staff. Zelenskyy said Russian forces deployed additional ballistic missiles while emergency crews responded to the initial impact. He described the operation as a serious escalation aimed at disrupting Ukrainian logistics.

Zelenskyy criticized the pace of US military aid, specifically regarding interceptor packages for Patriot and NASAMS systems. He said that artificial and prolonged delays in delivering these systems have directly helped Russia achieve its campaign objectives. On October 26, he announced that Kyiv had waited nearly a month for US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to sign off on the missiles. His team was instructed to raise the issue with the US side again.

By 09:00 on October 27, Ukrainian air defense forces reported destroying or jamming 257 Russian aerial assets. This count included two Iskander-M or S-400 ballistic missiles and 255 drones. The destroyed drones comprised 56 jet-powered Shahed units and various other types.