A four-year-old boy and his 35-year-old father were killed in an overnight Russian air strike outside of Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials on Sunday. Three other individuals, including a teenage boy, were injured in the attack just east of the capital. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned that the strike involved a North Korean-made missile, although he provided no additional details. Ukrainian emergency services previously stated that the victims' home in the Brovary district was hit by debris from a downed Russian missile. Video footage released by Ukraine's State Emergency Service depicted workers sifting through debris in the dark and removing the body of a child from beneath it.
"According to preliminary information, the Russians utilized a North Korean missile in this attack — yet another deliberate terrorist strike against Ukraine," Zelenskiy wrote on X, noting that experts were still analyzing the weapon. Moscow's overnight assault also included 57 Iranian-made attack drones launched across Ukraine, 53 of which were neutralized by air defenses, according to Kyiv's air force. It reported that Russia had fired a total of four North Korean-made KN-23 missiles but did not clarify the outcome of the other three. Reuters could not independently confirm these reports. Zelenskiy's top advisor had previously indicated that the Brovary casualties were due to a downed drone.
In his statement, Zelenskiy called for "a full-fledged air shield" from Ukraine's partners and authorization to conduct deep strikes inside Russia with Western-provided weapons. There was no immediate reaction from Russia. Moscow refutes targeting civilians in its attacks but has targeted critical infrastructure beyond the front line of its 29-month-old invasion, which has resulted in thousands of deaths and millions of displaced Ukrainians.
