Ukraine needs better air defences, Zelenskiy says after Russian drone attack

Kyiv, Ukraine - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Ukraine's Western partners to concentrate their efforts on helping provide an air defence system able to protect people after Ukraine air defence units shot down 50 of 73 drones launched overnight.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine was working with its allies to find a response to Russia's use of a new medium-range ballistic missile last week. Reuters was among a small group of Western reporters given access to the wreckage of the missile on Sunday.

Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, said forensic work was proceeding on the missile fragments "to determine all the details and specifications concerning the missile. And for finding together a response to this escalation move".

"The world has air defence systems capable of defending against this kind of threat too," he said. "This is what we all have to focus on."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Oreshnik (Hazel Tree) missile had been used on the central city of Dnipro in response to Ukraine's use of Western missiles over the past week against targets in Russia.

Putin said no counter-measures were possible to intercept the Oreshnik missile.

In remarks earlier on Sunday posted on the Telegram messaging app, Zelenskiy noted that a country-wide air alert had sounded "almost every day".

He said that over the past week, Russia had deployed more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles of various types.

"Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state. But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us," he said.

The Ukrainian military said air defence units had destroyed more than 10 Russian drones that targeted Kyiv in an overnight attack.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attack, Kyiv's military administration said.

Reuters witnesses heard explosions in Kyiv in what sounded like air defence units in operation.

"The UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were flying in different directions towards Kyiv," said Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration. "The air raid alert in the city lasted for more than three hours."

There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attack.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk in KyivWriting by Lidia Kelly, Pavel Polityuk and Ron PopeskiEditing by Jacqueline Wong, William Mallard, Elaine Hardcastle and Leslie Adler)