At Least 13 People Dead In Russian Attack On Cities Across Ukraine

Russia launched one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine overnight, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 100 others in coordinated drone and missile strikes that hit several major cities, Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday. The attack came after days of warnings from Ukrainian officials that Moscow was preparing a major escalation.

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia fired 656 drones and 73 missiles during the overnight barrage, targeting Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and other regions. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 602 drones and 40 missiles, but dozens of projectiles penetrated defenses and struck their targets.

The deadliest strike occurred in the eastern city of Dnipro, where nine people were killed, including a young child and an emergency responder. At least 36 others were wounded after missiles and drones slammed into residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure. Local authorities said rescue workers were still searching damaged buildings for survivors.

In the capital, Kyiv, four people were killed when a missile strike caused part of a 24-storey apartment building to collapse. More than 60 residents were injured, including children, while emergency crews worked through the night to rescue people trapped beneath the rubble. Large fires broke out in several districts, and thousands of residents sought shelter in metro stations as air-raid sirens sounded across the city.

Explosions were also reported in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, where residential buildings, public facilities and infrastructure sustained damage. Ukrainian officials described the attack as a deliberate attempt to overwhelm the country’s air-defense network through the simultaneous use of large numbers of drones and missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said intelligence services had warned of a possible large-scale Russian strike days before the attack. Following the bombardment, he renewed calls on Western allies to provide additional air-defense systems, particularly Patriot missile batteries, warning that Ukraine remains vulnerable to ballistic and hypersonic missile attacks.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the strikes and said they demonstrated that Moscow remained committed to military escalation despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war. He argued that the scale of the attack showed Russia was seeking to increase pressure on Ukraine both militarily and psychologically.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said the strikes targeted military command centers, defense-industrial facilities and other military infrastructure. Moscow has repeatedly denied intentionally targeting civilians, although Ukrainian authorities reported significant damage to apartment blocks, schools and other civilian sites.

The assault follows weeks of intensified hostilities between the two countries. Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone attacks against Russian military and energy facilities, while Russia has responded with increasingly large missile and drone barrages against Ukrainian cities. Recent Ukrainian strikes have targeted oil refineries and energy infrastructure deep inside Russian territory, underscoring the widening scope of the conflict.

The latest attack has renewed concerns among Ukraine’s allies that the war is entering another period of intensified violence. With civilian casualties mounting and diplomatic efforts producing little progress, analysts warn that both sides appear to be preparing for a prolonged phase of confrontation rather than a negotiated settlement.