Russia launched a major overnight missile and drone assault on Ukraine early Tuesday, killing at least nine people and injuring nearly 100 others as attacks struck multiple cities, including the capital, Kyiv.
Ukrainian officials said four people were killed in Kyiv, while five others died in the central city of Dnipro. The strikes caused widespread destruction, damaging residential and commercial properties and igniting fires across several districts.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the bombardment as a “massive enemy attack.”
Authorities expressed concern that residents may still be trapped beneath the debris of a multi-storey apartment building in Kyiv’s Podilskyi district, which partially collapsed after what officials described as a “double tap” Russian strike.
“Preliminary reports indicate that there are people trapped under the rubble,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, wrote on Telegram.
Images released by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service showed firefighters battling flames at heavily damaged buildings, while nearby homes suffered extensive destruction, with walls and windows blown apart by the blasts.
“Throughout the night, the enemy launched massive attacks on the Kyiv region using drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Our peaceful towns and villages were once again under attack,” said Kyiv regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk.
According to Klitschko, at least 58 people were injured in Kyiv, including three children. The attacks also triggered power outages and forced residents into shelters as air raid sirens sounded across the city.
A suspected missile strike hit a 24-storey residential tower in the Shevchenkivskyi district, causing a fire.
In Podilskyi district, another blaze erupted in a nine-storey building after debris struck its roof. Russian strikes also damaged a medical clinic, while debris landed on the grounds of a kindergarten, city officials said.
Outside the capital, the town of Bucha reported damage to three houses, warehouse facilities and several non-residential structures, according to Kalashnyk.
Elsewhere, officials reported Russian attacks in Dnipro, where 25 people were wounded, and in Kharkiv, where eight others sustained injuries.
Ahead of the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned citizens about the possibility of a significant Russian offensive.
“Intelligence warnings regarding Russian strikes remain in force. A massive strike is possible – they have prepared it,” Zelensky said in his nightly address on Monday.
His warning followed Russia’s announcement last week that it had begun carrying out “systematic strikes” on military facilities in Kyiv, according to Russian state media.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry also urged foreign nationals, including diplomatic and international organization personnel, to leave Kyiv “as soon as possible.”
The latest bombardment comes amid an intensification of Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure.
Zelensky claimed that Ukrainian forces had hit 15 Russian oil refineries between January and May, disabling around 40 percent of the country’s primary oil-refining capacity. The claim has not been independently verified.
