KYIV — A sweeping Russian drone and missile assault struck Ukraine’s capital overnight, killing at least 21 people and injuring 85 others, including children, in what city officials called the most intense attack on Kyiv since the war began, according to BBC News.
Mayor Vitaly Klitschko described the barrage as the “most massive attack” on the capital, not because of the death toll alone, but due to the scale, duration, and number of weapons used. The strikes lasted more than 11 hours, hitting multiple districts and forcing thousands of residents to seek shelter underground.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 74 missiles and nearly 500 drones in waves through the night. Although most were intercepted, dozens struck 33 locations across the city, leaving behind shattered buildings, burning debris, and widespread destruction.
In the Darnytskyi district, two missiles tore through a residential area. One landed near a kindergarten, leaving a deep crater and setting nearby buildings ablaze. Another hit a nine-storey apartment block, causing part of it to collapse into a heap of concrete. Rescue workers searched through the rubble as anxious families waited nearby.
More than 52,000 people, including thousands of children, took refuge in metro stations, the highest number recorded in recent years.
Residents described scenes of fear and exhaustion. Svitlana, who survived a previous strike that killed her mother and later lost her son in the war, said the explosions no longer shocked her. “I’ve been through it before,” she said quietly. Another resident, Oleksiy, injured by flying glass, rejected Russia’s claim that the attack was retaliation. “This is a residential area,” he said. “They targeted it.”
Russia said it struck military and energy sites in response to Ukrainian attacks on its infrastructure. But Ukrainian officials accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilians and warned against drawing false comparisons between attacker and defender.
The Ukrainian Red Cross reported that one of its warehouses was destroyed, wiping out hundreds of thousands of emergency supplies and weakening aid efforts across the country.
Military analysts said the attack combined drones and different types of missiles to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences, making it one of the most complex assaults in recent months.
As Kyiv begins to recover, President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed calls for more advanced air defence systems, urging allies to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to protect its skies.
