Hundreds of Missiles and Drones Overwhelm Defenses
Russia launched nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 100 others in what officials described as the deadliest attack in months. The bombardment stretched from daytime into the night, with Ukraine's air force reporting that Russia fired 703 incoming targets across multiple waves. Air defenses shot down or disabled 636 drones and 31 missiles, but there had been direct hits in 26 locations across the country.
PBS reported that the scale of the assault marked the largest aerial barrage in almost two weeks. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that four people died in the capital, including a 12-year-old boy, and 45 others were injured. The strikes damaged 17 apartment buildings, 10 private homes, a hotel, office center, car dealership, gas station and shopping mall in Kyiv alone. Rescuers pulled a mother and child from the ruins of a 16-storey residential building that collapsed in the city's central Podil district.
Civilian Areas Bear the Brunt
Nine people were killed in the southern port city of Odesa, while four died in the central city of Dnipro, where Russian attacks set residential buildings ablaze. One person was killed in Zaporizhzhia in the south. In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, a drone strike injured a 77-year-old woman and a 66-year-old man. Two cities in the south, Mykolaiv and Kherson, lost power entirely from the strikes.
Tetiana Sokol, a 54-year-old Kyiv resident, described taking cover with her dog in the hallway as missiles hit near her home. "On the third attack everything broke, everything flew, we were shocked, we didn't know where to run," she told the Associated Press. "I grabbed whatever came to hand and ran away with the dog. I still can't find the cats in the house, they climbed out somewhere, I don't know."
Olena Kapustian, 41, stood outside her damaged home with her son as fires sent black smoke into the sky. "I fear for our country and for everything we have. For the people. I feel so sorry for the children. So many people died today," she said.
Moscow Claims Retaliation
The Russian Defense Ministry said the operation was launched "in retaliation" for Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia, where long-range drones and missiles have hit Russian oil refineries and war-related manufacturing plants. The Defense Ministry claimed the barrage was aimed at facilities associated with the Ukrainian armed forces.
A Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea port of Tuapse in Russia's Krasnodar region killed two people, including a 14-year-old girl, and injured seven others, according to Russian officials. The strikes sparked a large fire at the port, which houses a major oil refinery and serves as an export hub for oil, coal and fertiliser. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses downed 207 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Zelensky Demands Continued Pressure on Moscow
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack and said it proved that US and European sanctions against Russia should not be weakened. "Another night has proven that Russia does not deserve any easing of global policy or lifting of sanctions," he wrote on social media.
Zelensky warned earlier this week that Ukraine faced a critical shortage of Patriot air defence missiles, the only means of intercepting Russia's ballistic missiles. He recently completed a 48-hour trip to Germany, Norway and Italy in an urgent search for more air defense systems. Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for the Ukrainian air force, said the Russian attack made extensive use of ballistic missiles. "We desperately need more missiles for the Patriot systems," Ihnat told Ukraine's private TV channel 1+1.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the latest attack a "war crime" and urged allies to increase pressure on Moscow. "All decisions required to increase pressure on the aggressor must be unblocked now," Sybiha wrote, referring to sanctions. Ukraine is also anxious for a 90 billion euro ($106 billion) EU loan to be released now that the chief opponent of that funding, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has been voted out of power. The money is designated for Ukraine's defence needs and economic support.
BBC reported that the assault came after a brief ceasefire over Orthodox Easter last weekend, though both sides accused one another of hundreds of violations. The New York Times reported that the bombardment dispelled any notion that the temporary pause would lead to a more lasting reduction in hostilities.
The sources report that the €90 billion EU loan is intended for both Ukraine's defense needs and economic support, not just defense.