Aug. 20 (UPI) — A Russian aerial assault on Kyiv overnight killed at least 13 people and injured 40, with officials saying Ukraine was effectively defenseless against ballistic missiles due to an acute shortage of missiles for air defense systems.

The 11-hour on-off attack began around midnight with the final all clear given just after 11 a.m. local time Thursday. Worst hit was the western Solomianskyi district where eight people were killed and 18 were injured, the Kyiv City State Administration said in an online update.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two residential buildings in Solomianskyi sustained blast and fire damage and that windows were blown out at a children’s hospital building with cars parked in the grounds set ablaze.

Damage was also reported in other residential buildings, a school and several warehouses, according to Klitschko who said that two other districts of the capital also came under heavy attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X that Chernihiv and Odessa regions were also targeted with 40 people injured in Odessa and a crossing point on the border with Moldova attacked and damage to energy infrastructure in Chernihiv.

“It was a massive attack. The Russians had been preparing for a long time, combining different types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones, in such a way as to cause as much damage as possible to civilian infrastructure,” Zelensky wrote, warning that as long as Ukraine lacked sufficient anti-ballistic missile defenses, including Patriot interceptors, Russia would never be serious about peace.

“‘Patriots’ cannot yet be replaced, and they are needed every day. Every additional missile saves the lives of our people. I thank everyone who understands this, seeks and finds ways to help,” he added.

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko told BBC Radio that without the interceptors the country was “absolutely unprotected” from ballistic missiles.

He said Russia was taking the opportunity to destroy as much of Ukraine’s infrastructure as it could.

“For us it’s very painful because we are dying here every day without these interceptors,” said Goncharenko, adding that was very worried about the impact on the energy infrastructure ahead of the coming winter when he said Russia would once against do its best to ensure Ukrainians “froze to death.”