Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine’s capital overnight into Thursday that killed at least 25 people and injured scores as loud explosions shook Kyiv for hours.
The attack with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones damaged buildings and civilian infrastructure across the city. Many residents took shelter at metro stations after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other authorities issued the first warnings of the attack.
The attack killed 25 people in Kyiv and at least 85 others were injured, city military officials said.
Damage was recorded in 30 locations across the city, mainly residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said 20 residential buildings were damaged across the city. The Emergency Service says it deployed nearly 500 personnel and 100 units of specialized vehicles, including a helicopter, to deal with the aftermath of the attack.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on Ukraine’s allies to strengthen the country’s air defenses following what he described as a “night of horror” in Kyiv, urging partners not to delay decisions on supplying air defense systems and missiles. Writing on X, Sybiha said the death toll after the attack may rise as the rescue teams continued their work.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier warned of a possible “massive strike” overnight and said he was cutting short his visit to Dublin for the start of Ireland’s six-month term in the rotating presidency of the E.U.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, even as Ukraine’s own long-range drone campaign against Russian military sites and energy facilities has caused fuel shortages and disrupted supply lines inside Russia.
Sybiha rejected any attempts to justify Russian strikes as retaliation for Ukraine’s long-range attacks, saying Ukraine was exercising its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter while Russia remained the aggressor.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents of the capital to remain in shelters due to the ongoing “furious enemy attack.”
He said a paramedic in extremely critical condition was among the injured in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Ukraine’s Emergency Service says a hotel and two five-story residential buildings were damaged in the area.
In the Desnianskyi district, people were trapped inside a damaged nine-story residential building and rescuers headed to the scene, Klitschko said.
In the Holosiivskyi district, a fire broke out on the roof of a 16-story building, according to the Emergency Service.
In the Sviatoshynskyi district, fire broke out in two private residences, the Emergency Service said. Debris trapped people in one of them, according to the mayor. In the Darnytskyi district, six levels of a nine-story building collapsed after a Russian strike and another five-story residential building was damaged, Klitschko said. The Emergency Service said a 16-story building and private residencies were damaged in the area.
Tkachenko said the attack partially destroyed a residential building in the Desnianskyi district, sparked fires near residential buildings at two locations in the Pecherskyi district and ignited a fire near an administrative building in the Solomianskyi district. He said authorities were also recording damage in the Obolonskyi and Podilskyi districts. The head of the Kyiv Regional Administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, said damage occurred in five regional districts. Three people sustained injuries in Bucha district, he said.
