A massive wave of missiles and drones struck Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of no fewer than 15 individuals and injuries to more than 100 others, according to local authorities.
One of the drones crashed into a residential high-rise, destroying many apartments. The country’s interior minister confirmed that Ukraine faced a staggering 440 drones and 32 missiles during the offensive.
This particular overnight assault, which lasted into Tuesday morning, ranks among the largest attacks on Kyiv since the beginning of the full invasion, with President Volodymyr Zelensky describing it as “one of the most terrifying strikes”.
Russian military officials declared that their intended targets were Ukraine’s military production facilities, claiming that every intended objective was struck successfully.
The bombardment of Kyiv stretched on for over nine hours. Civilians were forced into underground bunkers and shelters starting before midnight, only emerging after daylight.
In one area, a ballistic missile reportedly slammed into a nine-storey apartment complex, and 27 city districts came under bombardment. In the southwestern Solomyanskyi region, the entrance to a building collapsed entirely, and there were fears the toll of the dead and wounded could increase.
Among the casualties was a 62-year-old American citizen, confirmed by Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
While surveying the ruins, Klitschko mentioned that more than 40 apartments had been destroyed, and some residents might still be buried beneath the wreckage.
He also accused Moscow’s forces of using cluster munitions packed with ball bearings to inflict maximum human casualties.
“Waking up in utter nightmare: people trapped under rubble and full buildings collapsed,” Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko wrote on X.
Ukrainian officials, including Klymenko, reported that a variety of structures, such as homes, key infrastructure, and schools, had been damaged by the Russian strikes.
The city shook with heavy blasts and the sound of machine gun fire as Ukrainian mobile air defence teams engaged the incoming drones.
Air raid sirens went off again later in the morning, disrupting the ongoing rescue efforts and making it harder for emergency personnel to search for trapped survivors.
In recent weeks, Russia has stepped up its aerial attacks against Ukrainian cities, employing waves of drones and decoys to overwhelm the country’s air defence systems.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has responded with strikes of its own, as diplomatic negotiations between both sides have so far failed to produce a ceasefire or any progress towards peace.
Moscow accused Ukraine of firing missiles into a district of Donetsk under Russian control on Tuesday. Russia-appointed officials claimed that at least 10 people were wounded in the strike.
Russian news agencies reported that 147 Ukrainian drones were shot down across nine Russian regions overnight.
President Zelensky, who is currently at the G7 summit in Canada, condemned the latest Russian assault as “pure terrorism”.
He blamed Russian leader Vladimir Putin for launching the strikes “solely because he can afford to continue this war”.
“It is bad when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to this,” he said, adding: “It is the terrorists who should feel the pain, not normal, peaceful people.”
Drone attacks also targeted Odesa, a southern city in Ukraine, where one person was killed and at least 10 others were hurt, according to Klymenko.
Zelensky had intended to meet US President Donald Trump during the G7 conference on Tuesday, but Trump left early due to the escalating tensions in the Middle East.
This development likely disappointed the Ukrainian government, which had hoped to secure more US backing for its defence and strategic plans during the summit.
Nonetheless, the UK and its partners are expected to reveal further sanctions against Russia on Tuesday as part of their continued effort to maintain economic pressure on Moscow over the war.
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