Russian forces launched a large-scale overnight missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 30, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.
The attacks triggered evacuations across several neighbourhoods and caused widespread destruction just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia had been preparing a “massive” strike, reports BBC.
Children were among the “significant number” of casualties, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration.
“The enemy is once again deliberately targeting residential areas and killing civilians,” he said early on Thursday.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces had targeted energy facilities in retaliation for recent Ukrainian strikes.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones overnight, with Kyiv as the primary target.
Although Ukrainian air defence systems intercepted most of the incoming weapons, 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones struck 33 locations, causing extensive damage.
BBC journalists in Kyiv reported hearing repeated loud explosions throughout the night. By around 3:30am local time, they counted 10 major strikes, including a large fire in the city centre and several other blazes visible across the capital.
Air defence tracer fire repeatedly lit up the night sky before being followed by powerful explosions.
When daylight broke, large craters believed to have been caused by missile impacts became visible. Burnt-out vehicles, damaged buildings and battered infrastructure surrounded piles of debris across affected areas.
Multiple fires erupted throughout the city, while an ambulance station sustained damage that left at least one person critically injured. Firefighters also battled a blaze engulfing a hotel on a central boulevard.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said 13 people had been killed and more than 30 others injured.
Officials added that rescue workers had so far pulled 34 people from damaged buildings. Search and rescue operations continued at several strike sites, including a high-rise residential building and homes in south-eastern Kyiv.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha urged Kyiv’s international partners to provide additional air defence systems, saying Ukraine required “not only words of condemnation but concrete action to stop Russian terror”.
In a post on X, Sybiha said Russia had struck residential buildings and civilian infrastructure and called on allies to increase sanctions against Moscow.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Olha Stefanishyna, also wrote on X:
“Another horrific night for the residents of the city, who were forced to spend it in shelters.”
“Fires and the destruction of civilian infrastructure and residential buildings in several districts of the city.”
The assault marked Russia’s first large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine in more than two weeks.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, quoted by Russian media, Russian forces also struck military bases in central and eastern Ukraine.
The ministry said it had targeted Ukrainian defence and energy infrastructure in response to recent attacks on Russian power stations stretching from Moscow to the Black Sea.
Those attacks prompted a rare admission by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia was experiencing fuel shortages.
On Wednesday, Zelensky cut short his visit to Dublin after receiving fresh intelligence indicating that Moscow was preparing a major strike.
“I urge our people to be especially careful, to protect themselves, their children, and, of course, their families,” he said.
He also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has been preparing this massive strike against Ukraine for some time now”.
On the battlefield, Russian troops recently advanced into the city of Kostyantynivka, one of Ukraine’s last major defensive strongholds in the east. If Moscow captures the city, it would open a route to the entire Donbas region.
At the same time, Ukrainian commanders said their forces had regained more territory this year than they had lost, disrupting key Russian supply routes linking the Russian border with occupied Crimea.
Despite these developments, the ground war has remained largely static for months, with both sides holding entrenched positions.
Russia currently controls about one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, most of which it seized during the early months of its full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.
