The Attack
Russian forces launched what Kyiv's Mayor Vitaly Klitschko called the "most massive attack" on the Ukrainian capital overnight, killing at least 22 people and injuring 85 others, including two children. The barrage deployed the largest number of weapons on the city and hit locations across a wide area, according to Ukraine's State Emergencies Service. The assault lasted more than 11 hours and came in several waves: a drone strike on Kyiv's historic quarter ignited a fire in a hotel in the city center, followed at 01:00 by dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, another dozen cruise missiles at 03:00, and a swarm of drones that targeted the capital until dawn.
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 74 missiles and 496 drones overnight, mainly targeting the capital. While air defenses repelled most of these weapons, 25 ballistic missiles and 12 drones struck 33 locations across the city.
Civilian Toll
Among the hardest-hit areas was a nine-storey residential block in Darnitskyi district in southeast Kyiv, where two missiles caused devastation. One missile left a giant crater next to a kindergarten, with buildings around it gutted by fire and metal balconies twisted. The second missile hit the end of the apartment block, causing it to collapse into a heap of concrete. Rescuers dug through rubble as relatives watched in tears, with some residents missing and believed to be sheltering in the basement.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said a "significant number" of casualties were children. He stated: "The enemy is once again deliberately targeting residential areas and killing civilians." Kyiv's metro authorities reported that 52,500 people, including 4,500 children, sheltered in underground stations overnight, the highest number in "recent years."
The Ukrainian Red Cross said its Kyiv warehouse was destroyed in the strikes, with supplies worth more than £1.3 million lost. The charity said the destruction of around 320,000 relief items will affect emergency response and humanitarian operations across Ukraine. An ambulance station was also hit.
Zelenskyy's Appeal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russia was preparing an attack hours before the strikes occurred. Following the barrage, he appealed directly to the United States for help, urging Washington to grant Ukraine licenses to manufacture Patriot defense missiles. He emphasized that "Ukrainians will win this war" while renewing his pleas for support from allies including the U.S.
In the wake of the attacks, Ukraine urged allies to send more air defense systems. Aviation expert Bohdan Dolintsev told Ukrainian media that Russia's technique of using multiple types of weapons within the same time window to wear down Ukraine's defenses creates an exceptionally complex challenge for the country's air defense systems.
Moscow's Justification
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia would "continue to increase pressure on the Kyiv regime in order to achieve our set goals." Moscow said its forces hit what it called military plants in retaliation against attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure. Russia also hit military bases in central and eastern Ukraine, claiming to have targeted Ukrainian defense and energy infrastructure in response to what it called "terrorist attacks" by Kyiv against civilian infrastructure in Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha rejected this framing, stating it would be "immoral" to justify Russian strikes by saying they were a response to Kyiv's long-range attacks. He said: "In this war, there is an aggressor and a country defending itself."
