KYIV, Ukraine -- A Russian attack on a site near Kyiv that was hosting a defence industry event killed at least 10 people and wounded nearly 100 others, according to Ukrainian government and industry officials. The ballistic missile strike came a day after Zelenskyy met in Kyiv with senior representatives of Raytheon, the U.S. company that makes the Patriot air defence systems Ukraine desperately needs to counter the devastating ballistic missiles Russia uses to advance its invasion. Raytheon didn’t immediately respond to an email inquiring whether any of its workers were at the event. “Missiles for Patriot systems are the number one priority,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media, where he reported the attack. The attack hit the grounds of a privately operated military training site that was hosting an event, acting regional military administration head Ruslan Oliinyk wrote on Facebook, citing preliminary information. The site is about 20-30 kilometres from central Kyiv, in the Bucha district. Emergency crews responded to the area, where 27 homes and 44 vehicles were also damaged, Oliinyk said. The Ukrainian Defence Industry Council, which describes itself as the country’s largest association of private defence manufacturers, said industry representatives were at the site when it was hit, although it did not immediately provide further details. Ruslan Kravchenko, the country’s prosecutor general, opened a war crimes investigation into the attack and a separate criminal case over possible negligence in organizing the event. Investigators will examine who approved its location, timing and format, and whether adequate precautions were taken, Kravchenko said. The Ukrainian government imposed reporting restrictions on the attack. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian attack on a military plant in Russia killed six people and wounded 26 others, the regional governor said. Zelenskyy meets with delegation from U.S. company Raytheon The Raytheon meeting came less than three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to give Ukraine a licence to produce Patriots. The pledge marked an important shift, as Trump recently adopted a more positive tone toward Zelenskyy. In another sign that Ukraine is changing minds in Washington, ardent Trump ally Laura Loomer met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday. After years of minimizing the invasion, she rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin for missile attacks on Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader said late Thursday that he held talks with a Raytheon delegation, adding that the company was ready to jointly produce Patriot interceptors with Ukraine. The system is comprised of radars, command-and-control systems, and different types of interceptor missiles. The company made no immediate comment about the meeting on its website or social media accounts. “Our teams -- both at the government level and from the private sector -- will stay in close touch to work (it) out,” Zelenskyy said on social media. Zelenskyy is keen to move quickly on a coproduction agreement as Russia relentlessly fires ballistic missiles that are hard to stop and cause civilian casualties as well as inflicting huge damage on civilian areas. Zelenskyy has for several years been pleading for more and quicker Patriot deliveries from western partners. Ukraine has developed its own innovative air defences, but large-scale production is vital. Even so, experts and Kyiv officials have cautioned that setting up production in Ukraine would likely take years. Ukraine hits another hub of Russia’s biggest online retailer When the Trump administration engaged in a diplomatic effort to end the war last year, Putin portrayed Russia as negotiating from a position of strength. The peace efforts have produced no results so far. But since first attacking its neighbour in 2014, Russia has captured only around 20 per cent of the country. Now, the Russian army’s advance is stalling due to Ukraine’s successful front-line and mid- and long-range attacks using cutting-edge drone technology it has developed at home and that is now coveted by other countries, western officials and analysts say. Ukraine has expanded its campaign of disruption with bigger and increasingly frequent drone attacks inside Russia that are hitting high-profile targets, causing fuel shortages and piling pressure on Putin. Ukrainian forces again targeted the logistical hubs of Wildberries, Russia’s biggest online retailer that is often compared to Amazon, the company’s founder said Friday. Founder Tatyana Kim said Wildberries logistical facilities came under attack in St. Petersburg, the adjacent Leningrad region and in Simferopol -- a city in illegally annexed Crimea. Photos and videos published by Russian media showed massive plumes of smoke rising over St. Petersburg. Ukraine struck four other Wildberries warehouses across Russia in recent days, sparking massive fires. Kyiv officials want ordinary Russians to feel the consequences of the war and question whether Putin can keep them safe. The almost daily attacks have caused consternation in Russia. Ukraine keeps targeting Russian oil facilities, weapons plants Ukrainian long-range weapons hit an oil facility nearly 1,350 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, as well as a military plant, Zelenskyy said Friday. The plant in Russia’s Kirov region makes components for aircraft and missiles used in attacks on Ukrainian cities, he said. The Ukrainian attack on the military plant killed six people and wounded 26 others, regional governor Alexander Sokolov said. He didn’t identify the plant, but Astra online news outlet said it was the Avitec plant, which makes air defence missiles and aircraft components. The Russian Defence Ministry reported Friday that its air defences shot down 571 Ukrainian drones overnight. By Illia Novikov
