Russian strikes have killed three people, including a child, in the region surrounding Kyiv, and another person was killed during an overnight ballistic ⁠attack as explosions rocked the capital, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

A grandfather, grandmother and their 3-year-old grandson were killed by a double-tap drone strike in Pukhivka, in the Brovary District. The child’s parents, his 15-year-old brother and a neighbour who had came to the family’s aid were wounded, Zelenskyy said on X.

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One more person was reported dead in the capital after six ballistic missiles caused fires to break out across parts of the city. Zelenskyy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “desperately clinging to his ballistic missiles and drones to keep the war going”.

The attack was the latest in a Russian bombardment that Ukraine’s depleted air defences have been increasingly unable to stop, exposing a widening gap between Russia’s ability to attack Ukrainian cities and Kyiv’s ability to thwart those attacks.

Russian ballistic missiles travel at several times the speed of sound and dive towards their targets so steeply that Ukrainian defenders often have only seconds to respond.

Patriot air defence systems, supplied by the United States, remain the only weapons in Ukraine’s arsenal able to reliably intercept them. Officials in Kyiv have said they lack anywhere near enough batteries or interceptors to shield their cities properly.

In response to the latest wave of drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, Sven Coppens, director of Plan International’s Ukraine Response, said such attacks “expose a dangerous new reality for civilians in Ukraine”.

“We observe that multiple missiles are being launched at the same area within a short period of time, leaving civilians with less time to reach safety and placing greater pressure on already stretched air defence systems,” Coppens said in a statement sent to Al Jazeera.

At the same time, the organisation said drones were increasingly being used against civilians in frontline communities. “This combination of intensified long-range strikes against cities and targeted drone attacks near the frontline is shrinking the space in which civilians can feel safe,” he added.

The latest Russian attacks come as Ukraine has repeatedly targeted sites deep within Russia’s territory, including two oil refineries in the last 24 hours. The Ukrainian general staff on Saturday said its military hit Russia’s Ilsky and Syzran oil refineries during overnight attacks, causing fires at both.

Ukraine also launched long-range drones at another warehouse of the online retailer Wildberries in the city of Ekaterinburg. Attacks on Wildberries locations have been part of what Ukrainian officials have described as a campaign against logistics sites they say support Russia’s military.

Zelenskyy visits Serbia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first official visit to Serbia on Saturday, in a bid to bolster international support amid the intensifying Russian strikes.

Serbia is historically close to Russia and President Aleksandar Vucic has refused to sanction Moscow, a move that has irked the EU and slowed Belgrade’s path to joining the bloc.

Zelenskyy had dinner on Friday with Vucic, who repeated this week that he would not change his mind on sanctions.

“We will discuss expanding economic ties between our countries, relations with the European Union, other areas that can benefit our nations, and security issues,” the Ukrainian president said on X ahead of the talks on Saturday.

Although heavily dependent on cheap Russian gas and one of the rare European leaders to still visit Moscow, Vucic has supplied non-military aid to Kyiv. The Kremlin has accused Serbian firms of selling munitions to Ukraine, a claim Vucic has repeatedly denied.

Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said Ukraine received only a third as many air-defence missiles in the first half of this year as it had during the same period in 2025. He attributed the shortfall to the US-Israel war on Iran, which has drawn down global stockpiles of air defence interceptors.

Ukrainian government advisers estimate that Russia can now launch about 100 ballistic missiles a month, and officials have warned that Moscow is preparing to intensify its campaign further once winter sets in.

On Friday, the US Senate passed a sweeping new sanctions bill targeting Russian energy exports, including 100 percent tariffs on countries still buying Russian oil and gas.

The bill, approved 86-11, was named after the late US Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime advocate of tougher measures against Russia.

The legislation would need to be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by President Donald Trump before it becomes law.

Zelenskyy welcomed the vote, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it would help “drain Russia’s means to continue a war it cannot win”.