At least 10 people have been killed after Russia launched a large-scale overnight missile and drone assault on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, into Thursday, just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that intelligence indicated Moscow was preparing a major attack.
According to CNN, city officials said the bombardment, which lasted about 11 hours, involved ballistic missiles and drones and caused extensive destruction across Kyiv, with damage reported at about 30 locations.
Ukrainian authorities said dozens of people were injured, including a child and several medical workers who were wounded after an ambulance substation was struck.
“There have been very significant direct hits on residential buildings, where, unfortunately, the bodies of the deceased are being recovered from under the rubble,” said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city’s military administration.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces carried out a “massive strike using high-precision, long-range weapons,” including drones, targeting military and energy facilities in Kyiv as well as the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions.
However, Ukrainian officials accused Russia of striking residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure.
“We demand strong international responses. Not only words of condemnation but concrete action to stop Russian terror,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said, warning that the number of fatalities was expected to increase.
Images and videos from the aftermath showed residential apartment blocks engulfed in flames and partially collapsed, while emergency workers searched through rubble for survivors and victims.
The attack came after Zelensky urged Ukrainians on Wednesday to remain vigilant and immediately respond to air raid warnings, saying intelligence suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin had been planning a major offensive.
“That is exactly the threat we are facing tonight,” Zelensky said in a post to X.
As air raid sirens echoed across the capital from around 8 p.m. local time and continued into Thursday morning, many residents sought refuge in Kyiv’s metro stations.
More than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Ukrainian cities continue to face frequent overnight missile and drone attacks. At the same time, Ukraine has intensified long-range drone strikes deep inside Russia.
In recent weeks, Kyiv has stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, with Zelensky describing the campaign as a crucial strategy to pressure Moscow into ending the war.
Last week alone, Russian authorities said they intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones across 12 regions in what was believed to be one of Kyiv’s largest drone offensives since the war began in 2022.
Despite Ukraine’s expanding drone campaign, Russia has continued its aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
Earlier in June, a Russian strike in central Kyiv sparked a fire at the UNESCO-listed Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery complex.
