Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that some uninhabited facilities in the city caught fire when Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital with ballistic missiles.
According to local media, many explosions were heard in the city at 1:18 am on July 30. Mr. Klitschko instructed people to find shelter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously warned on July 29 that a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine is very likely to occur and the safety of the Ukrainian people depends on the goodwill of allies in providing anti-missile defense systems.
He is on his way back from the US and said that President Donald Trump has agreed to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missiles. Mr. Zelensky also reiterated his request to Ukraine's allies to provide Kiev with the types of missiles that the country's air defense system is lacking, in a post on X.
In early July, Mr. Trump expressed his intention to allow Ukraine to produce surface-to-air missiles, at a time when Russia is intensifying ballistic missile attacks. Only US Patriot systems are capable of shooting down Russian missiles, but Ukraine is lacking PAC-3 interceptor missiles. This shortage has become more serious since the war against Iran launched by the US and Israel in February.
In Washington, D.C., Mr. Zelensky had a "good meeting" with Mr. Trump, while emphasizing that Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost the initiative on the battlefield due to heavy losses.
Mr. Zelensky spent more than an hour with Mr. Trump at the White House, during talks that took place as Kiev and Moscow intensified long-range attacks, while US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war were stalled.
After the meeting, Mr. Trump posted a photo on social media with the caption: "Many issues have been discussed. The meeting went very well!". Relations between Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Trump have warmed since the beginning of the second term of the US president, when Mr. Trump earlier this month said that Ukrainian attacks within Russian territory "could help" end the conflict.
