Kyiv reaches agreement with US on monthly interceptor missile supplies

Russia-Ukraine overnight strikes claim seven lives, injure dozensa

Zelensky says Ukraine will receive fewer Patriot interceptors in 2026 than in 2025 as Kyiv grapples with a critical shortage of air defence ammunition.

Kyiv: Ukraine has reached an agreement with the US for monthly deliveries of interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defence system, but supplies remain insufficient, Ukrinform reported on Saturday, citing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking to reporters in Belgrade, Zelensky confirmed Washington would supply the missiles every month but said the volume fell short of Ukraine's air defence needs. He said Ukraine was expected to receive fewer interceptor missiles in 2026 than in 2025, without giving figures.

The agreement comes as Russia and Ukraine exchanged overnight strikes that killed seven civilians and injured dozens on both sides.

In Russia's Belgorod border region, Ukrainian drones killed five people and injured 24 others, including a four-year-old boy, officials said.

Russian missiles struck a high-rise apartment block in Kharkiv's Saltivskyi, killing two people and injuring 13, Oleh Syniehubov said. Eight others were injured in Odesa after dozens of missiles and drones struck the Black Sea port and surrounding region, local administration head Oleh Kiper said.

Russian missile attacks have intensified in recent weeks as Ukraine faces a critical shortage of Patriot interceptors, its only air defence weapon capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

Kyiv has meanwhile continued long-range drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and other targets. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday its overnight strikes hit drone warehouses in the Kharkiv region and fuel depots and other Ukrainian military materiel in Odesa. It also claimed Russian forces shot down 153 Ukrainian dro­nes, including over Russ­ian-occupied Crimea and the Bla­ck and Azov seas.

—AP/IANS