Kyiv will observe a day of mourning on Friday after a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack killed at least 13 people and injured about 90 others, according to city officials.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said damage had been recorded across the city of around three million people, with buildings destroyed or heavily damaged. The attack was the second-deadliest Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital so far this year.
Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones overnight, targeting Kyiv as the main objective, Ukraine’s air force said. Air defence units intercepted or neutralised 48 missiles and 476 drones, but 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones struck 33 locations. The military said information on several missiles was still being verified.
Multiple explosions shook the capital throughout the night as thousands of residents sought shelter in underground metro stations and bomb shelters.
Emergency crews continued searching through the rubble of a collapsed nine-storey residential building on the eastern side of the Dnipro River. City officials said some people remained trapped inside damaged apartment buildings. Among the injured were children, paramedics and ambulance station drivers.
Kyiv resident Iryna Plekhova described the destruction in a Facebook post.
“Our house is on fire.”
She said a neighbour was rescued from a burning building while emergency services were contacted during the explosions.
“We do not have an apartment anymore.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its “massive attack” used long-range precision weapons launched from the air, land and sea, as well as drones, to strike military facilities, energy infrastructure and airports in Kyiv and other locations. The ministry said the attack was retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian civilian infrastructure.
The ministry also said Russia had shot down 327 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Ukraine’s General Staff said it had struck an oil refinery in Kstovo, in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region. Regional Governor Gleb Nikitin said one person was killed and four others injured in a drone strike that damaged an industrial facility.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian attack had targeted only “military or quasi-military targets”. He also said discussions were taking place in Russia on how to guarantee the country’s security in response to what Moscow views as European Union efforts to increase militarisation and tensions.
Peskov acknowledged that opinions in Russia differed on how to respond to recent Ukrainian drone attacks, with some calling for tougher measures while others favoured a more restrained approach.
He said that, regardless of those differences, Russia’s national security and interests would be protected.
