At least 13 people have been killed after Russia launched one of its largest missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, overnight, Ukrainian officials have said.
The large-scale assault forced evacuations across several neighbourhoods as explosions struck residential buildings and other parts of the city, just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing a “massive” attack.
According to Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, children were among the “significant number” of casualties recorded during the overnight bombardment.
“The enemy is once again deliberately targeting residential areas and killing civilians,” he said.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence, however, claimed the strikes were aimed at energy facilities in retaliation for recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones, with Kyiv identified as the primary target.
Although Ukrainian air defence systems intercepted the majority of the incoming weapons, authorities said 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones still managed to strike 33 locations across the country.
BBC correspondents in Kyiv reported hearing repeated explosions throughout the night. By about 3:30 a.m. local time, at least ten major strikes had been recorded, with a large fire breaking out in the city centre alongside multiple blazes in surrounding districts.
Air defence systems illuminated the night sky with tracer fire as explosions echoed across the capital.
By daylight, the extent of the destruction became clearer, with images showing a massive crater believed to have been caused by one of the explosions.
Burnt-out vehicles, damaged buildings and destroyed infrastructure were visible around several impact sites.
Authorities also confirmed that multiple fires erupted across Kyiv, including at an ambulance station where at least one person was critically injured.
Firefighters spent hours battling flames that engulfed a hotel located on one of the city’s central boulevards.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said more than 30 people were injured, while emergency crews had rescued 34 people from damaged buildings.
Search and rescue operations were continuing at several affected locations, including residential high-rise apartments and homes in the south-eastern part of the city.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha urged international partners to provide additional air defence systems, insisting that the country needed “not only words of condemnation but concrete action to stop Russian terror.”
Writing on X, he said Russia had deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure and residential buildings while also calling for tougher sanctions against Moscow.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Olha Stefanishyna, described the night as another tragedy for Kyiv residents.
“Another horrific night for the residents of the city, who were forced to spend it in shelters.”
“Fires and the destruction of civilian infrastructure and residential buildings in several districts of the city.”
The attack represents the first major wave of Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine in more than two weeks.
Russia’s Defence Ministry also claimed its forces struck Ukrainian military bases in central and eastern parts of the country.
According to Russian officials, the operation targeted Ukraine’s defence and energy infrastructure in response to recent attacks on power facilities across Russia, stretching from Moscow to the Black Sea.
Those attacks prompted an uncommon admission from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who acknowledged that Russia was experiencing fuel shortages.
On Wednesday, President Zelensky cut short his visit to Dublin after receiving intelligence suggesting Moscow was preparing another large-scale assault.
“I urge our people to be especially careful, to protect themselves, their children, and, of course, their families,” he said.
He added that President Putin “has been preparing this massive strike against Ukraine for some time now”.
Meanwhile, Russian forces have recently advanced into Kostyantynivka, one of Ukraine’s last major defensive positions in the eastern region. Military analysts say capturing the city could open the way for Russia to gain broader control of the Donbas region.
Despite those advances, Ukrainian military commanders maintain that their forces have regained more territory this year than they have lost, disrupting key Russian supply routes between the Russian border and occupied Crimea.
The wider frontline has remained largely static for months, with both Russian and Ukrainian forces holding entrenched positions.
Russia currently controls roughly one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, much of which was seized during the early stages of its full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.
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