Moscow has in recent weeks stepped up its use of ballistic missiles as it seeks to choke off Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia that have caused critical fuel shortages affecting both the military and the civilian population.
US President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to grant Ukraine licences to produce Patriots, the most effective means of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, potentially bolstering Kyiv's defences. However, the details and timeline remain unclear.
The latest attack on Kyiv began at around 1:30am on Sunday and continued for several hours, with explosions echoing across the city.
Russia launched 41 missiles and 125 drones across Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said most of the missiles had targeted the capital, "and it is because of them that Putin still believes in his war".
"It is very important that our partners understand what is happening and that air defence missiles are needed to protect lives literally every single day. It is important to accelerate everything - both with our European partners and with the United States," he said in his nightly address.
Later on Sunday, a Russian attack on a postal facility near Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv killed three people and wounded at least 20.
Russian guided bombs also hit the cities of Kherson and Sumy, local authorities and Ukraine's emergency service reported, with each of the strikes leaving at least one person dead.
The strikes on Kyiv sparked fires in five districts, damaging residential buildings, office and industrial sites, a dormitory and vehicles, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
Rescuers pulled four people from a burning home in the Sviatoshynskyi district, while in the Shevchenkivskyi district, they rushed to save residents from a three-story building on fire. One person was found dead. Firefighters also responded to blazes in the Solomyanskyi, Desnianskyi and Dnipro districts.
Russia's Defence Ministry claimed the attack on Kyiv targeted sites linked to the Ukrainian military - including plants producing Flamingo drones and parts for Neptune guided missiles, as well as a postal terminal used for storing dual-use goods and assembling drones, robotic systems and electronic warfare equipment.
Separately Ukraine said that Russia attacked a civilian cargo ship flying the flag of the West African country of Guinea-Bissau, killing at least five crew members.
The grain freighter was hit by cruise missiles in the Odessa region of the Black Sea, the Ukrainian naval forces said on social media.
A fire broke out on board after the strike, killing at least five crew members, while another five remain missing, it said.
Search and rescue operations were ongoing. Eight crew members were taken to hospital in the port city of Odessa.
The ship was in the combat zone, it was reported. Heavy fighting is taking place in the Black Sea region. Russia launches near-daily attacks on ports in the Odessa region. It is unclear why the civilian vessel was operating in the contested area.
Russia has accused Ukraine of using civilian ships as cover to receive deliveries of weapons and military equipment to support its defence against Moscow's invasion.
Kyiv has for months been targeting Russia's oil industry, which it says both directly fuels Moscow's war effort and funds it through export revenues, triggering acute fuel shortages in a country that is one of the world's top oil producers.
Zelenskiy announced that Ukrainian units had struck more energy infrastructure in Russian territory.
He said units of Ukraine's Security Service agency struck three oil depots in the Stavropol region, while a separate unit of the army hit another fuel-related facility in the same region. Three Russian tankers were also struck in the Black Sea.
Russian air defence systems shot down 140 Ukrainian drones over eight Russian regions, annexed Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas overnight into Sunday, Russia's Defence Ministry reported. It did not say how many were launched or reached their targets.
with dpa
