Russia has launched a massive overnight drone and missile attack on Ukraine’s capital, killing at least 15 people.
Russian projectiles damaged and destroyed buildings in several districts of the city. Ukraine’s air force said that it had recorded Russian strikes at 13 locations, while debris had fallen at 26 locations. It said that it had downed 563 of nearly 600 drones and 26 of 31 missiles launched in Russian attacks overnight.
The attack was the first major combined Russian drone and missile attack to strike Kyiv since United States President Donald Trump met his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city military administration, disclosed that among the dead were four children. He said a five-storey residential building in the city’s Darnytskyi district was hit directly. Kyiv’s city military administration said that 48 people had been injured.
Another strike in central Kyiv left a major road strewn with shattered glass, and rescue teams were working to pull people trapped beneath rubble from some 20 affected locations across the city, with casualties expected to rise.
Among the damaged properties were the European Union delegation’s building in Kyiv and the offices of the British Council, which promotes international cultural and educational opportunities, nearby.
EU Commissioner Marta Kos confirmed the damage to the delegation’s offices. “I strongly condemn these brutal attacks, a clear sign that Russia rejects peace and chooses terror,” she said in a post on X.
Ukraine’s national power grid operator said that Russia’s attacks also damaged energy facilities in several regions, leading to power cuts, with 60,000 households left without electricity in the central Vinnytsia region.
Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that Friday would be declared a day of mourning for victims of the attacks, with flags lowered on public buildings and public events banned.
The strikes on Kyiv come amid so-far unsuccessful efforts by Trump to convince Putin to cease his war on Ukraine, and as both Moscow and Kyiv trade blame over a diplomatic impasse in efforts to end the fighting.
Zelenskyy Calls Russia’s Attack “A Clear Response”
In a post on X, Zelenskyy sent his condolences to the loved ones of the victims and said that the Russian strikes were “a clear response to everyone in the world who, for weeks and months, has been calling for a ceasefire and for real diplomacy.”
He called for greater pressure from the international community on Russia, including “new, tough sanctions,” singling out Moscow’s ally, China, and EU member Hungary as two countries that Ukraine “expect[ed] a reaction from.”
“Russia still takes advantage of the fact that at least part of the world turns a blind eye to murdered children and seeks excuses for Putin. The death of children should definitely stir far greater emotions than anything else.”
“We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed for greater international pressure on Russia to negotiate. “Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” he said, adding that that meant Moscow did “not fear the consequences” of its ongoing attacks.
“The Russians understand only strength and pressure. For every strike, Moscow must feel the consequences.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the attack, calling it an act of “terror and barbarism.” “France condemns these senseless and cruel attacks in the strongest possible terms,” he said on X.
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