At least 27 people were killed and more than 90 injured after Russian drones and missiles struck residential buildings in Kiev as part of a wider wave of Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital overnight.
Timur Tkachenko, head of Kiev’s military administration, warned that the death toll was likely to rise as rescue teams worked through the night to clear debris and search for trapped residents.
Vitali Klitschko, the capital’s mayor, called the overnight airstrike “the biggest attack of the enemy.”
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia deployed 570 aerial objects during the attack, of which about 500 were drones.
The Russian military launched 24 Iskander ballistic missiles and about 50 cruise missiles of various types at Kiev.
These missiles included four Zircon hypersonic guided missiles, which were developed primarily to target ships.
Klitschko had earlier said that the roof of a hotel on central Shevchenko Boulevard caught fire, while six floors of an apartment building partially collapsed after a direct hit by a Russian projectile.
Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha said it was a “night of horror” in the capital.
A Reuters video showed emergency crews searching through the debris of the collapsed nine-story building.
According to Tkachenko, three dozen locations across the city were damaged in the attacks that lasted about 11 hours.
Kyiv Metro reported that more than 50,000 people took shelter in metro stations after authorities issued air raid warnings.
Zelensky demands air defense supplies
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian strikes also targeted locations beyond Kiev.
He wrote, “Five people, including a child, were wounded in the Kharkiv region, and two others were wounded in the Kyiv region, where civilian infrastructure was also targeted. Overnight, Russia also attacked the Sumy, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, and Cherkasy regions.”
Zelensky reiterated Ukraine’s urgent request for air defense supplies, especially Patriot missiles and related systems.
He added, “We also have great confidence in the United States’ decision regarding licenses and other forms of cooperation for Patriots.” “These are steps that can stop this war and prevent attacks like this.”
The Ukrainian president vowed to respond to Russia’s attacks while visiting an apartment building in Kiev that was partially destroyed in the attack.
Zelensky had earlier cut short his stay in Dublin, Ireland, after intelligence reports indicated that a major Russian attack was likely.
Ukrainian drone disrupts Russian military lines
Russia said the drone and missile attacks were retaliation for Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow earlier this week.
The Ukrainian drone attack comes less than two weeks after the country struck a major oil refinery in the Moscow region in the largest drone attack on the Russian capital since the start of a Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy facilities and other critical infrastructure during the war.
But Ukraine is now producing better long-range drones and has attacked targets deep inside Russia.
A new analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said on Wednesday that, by some estimates, more than 90% of Russian casualties were caused by drone strikes as a result of human-to-human activities.
Russia had to pay a heavy price in Ukraine
CSIS study states Russian forces suffered approximately 1.4 million battlefield casualties (soldiers killed, wounded or missing) between February 2022 and June 2026 and between 400,000 and 450,000 deaths during the same period.
Ukrainian forces suffered between 525,000 and 625,000 casualties (soldiers killed, wounded and missing) and 125,000 to 150,000 deaths between February 2022 and June 2026.
This means that more than 2 million Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the war began.
Edited by: Srinivas Majumdaru and Carl Sexton
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