A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Rescue workers in Kyiv pulled bodies out of an apartment building overnight, a building that was crushed by a Russian missile on Thursday. Officials say 30 people were killed in the volley of missiles and drones in Ukraine's capital.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The attack was Russia's response to weeks of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries. That's an attempt by Ukraine to weaken the Kremlin's ability to wage war.
MARTÍNEZ: Joining us now is NPR's Joanna Kakissis, who is in Kyiv. Joanna, how is Kyiv recovering?
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Well, many here, A, they're still very shaken, especially in south-eastern Kyiv, where Russian missiles hit this high-rise apartment complex. And if you walk outside this complex, you will see right next to a kindergarten where one of the missiles left this giant crater. An apartment building collapsed, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to reporters outside the rubble.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: He looked tired and angry and he said, look, if our allies had delivered the air-defense supplies they had promised on time, I think we could have saved more lives and homes. He said Russia's latest attack exposed Ukraine's shortage of interceptors for missiles.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. Some NATO leaders are meeting in Turkey next week, and the security alliance has been helping Ukraine defend itself. I mean, does Zelenskyy have a message for them?
KAKISSIS: Yes. He has said many times before that Russia is a threat not just to Ukraine but to Europe as a whole. And in his evening video address last night, Zelenskyy said he wants to secure licenses to produce U.S.-designed patriot air defense missiles in Ukraine and Europe.
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ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: He's saying if NATO still means something to the allies, Europe must have its own capacity to defend itself from all types of threats, including Russian ballistic missiles. Now, last month, G7 leaders said they would consider granting a license to Ukraine to produce air-defense missiles.
MARTÍNEZ: Is Ukraine developing its own anti-missile system?
KAKISSIS: Yeah. Actually, A, they are. The Ukrainian defense firm Fire Point is testing an anti-ballistic interceptor to destroy Russian missiles. Those interceptors are not ready yet, so there's this gap. Ukraine has already developed interceptors that destroy Russian drones.
MARTÍNEZ: And I know, yeah, that Ukraine has also made its own attack drones, including some that can travel more than 1,000 miles. So how's Ukraine use those?
KAKISSIS: Yeah. Well, for weeks now, Ukraine has launched this systematic campaign of long-range drone strikes deep inside Russia and in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. Ukrainian drones have even hit Moscow and St. Petersburg and as far away as Siberia. And now the targets have largely been Russia's oil industry. This is a pillar of the Russian economy. Since this March, this past March, there have been more than 50 reported Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and energy facilities.
MARTÍNEZ: And what's the goal with those drone strikes?
KAKISSIS: So Ukraine says these long-range strikes are targeting what it calls Russia's war machine. It is an attempt to pressure the Kremlin to end the war. The drone strikes have caused widespread gas shortages in Russia, and Russia is also making very little progress on the front line. Ukrainian drone strikes have hit supply routes and logistic centers for Russian troops on the front line and inside Russia.
And a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies says that the Russian military is actually suffering far higher casualties than Ukrainian forces, a rate of nearly 8-1, which is much higher than it was at the beginning of the war. Zelenskyy has said many times that he wants to bring the Kremlin's war home to Russians, and Russians are now feeling the pain.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Joanna Kakissis. Joanna, thanks.
KAKISSIS: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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