Russia launched a massive overnight missile and drone attack on Kyiv, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 85 others, in one of the deadliest assaults on the Ukrainian capital in recent weeks. Explosions rang out across the city as the barrage struck multiple districts.
The assault came in the form of a large-scale wave of ballistic missiles and drones. Ukrainian defenses intercepted most of the incoming weapons, but around 33 missiles and drones got through and made impact, according to accounts of the attack, spreading destruction across the capital.
The human toll was laid out by Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, who said 13 people had been killed and more than 85 wounded. Among the injured were at least one child and several medical workers, who were hurt when one of the strikes hit an ambulance substation.
One of the most alarming scenes was in the Desnyanskyi district, where the mayor said a nine-story residential building had collapsed. People were left trapped inside the rubble, and rescue crews moved in to search for survivors amid the wreckage.
The damage stretched across the city. The governor of the Kyiv region said the attacks had hit five different districts of the capital, damaging both residential and commercial buildings and leaving neighborhoods scarred by the overnight bombardment.
The strike drew an immediate response from Ukraine's leader. President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was cutting short a trip to Ireland to return to Ukraine, adding that it had been known for some time that Russian President Vladimir Putin was preparing to launch another large-scale strike. Ukrainian intelligence had warned of a fresh wave of attacks.
The bombardment came against the backdrop of an intensifying long-range campaign by Ukraine. In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have stepped up drone strikes on Russia's oil industry, hitting targets more than 1,000 kilometers from the border and helping to trigger a fuel crisis that Putin has been forced to acknowledge.
As rescue operations continued at the collapsed building and other damaged sites, the attack underscored the continued escalation of the war. For residents of Kyiv, the overnight strikes brought another deadly reminder that the capital remains firmly within Russia's reach.