Russia's overnight barrage on Kyiv kills 16 as Ukraine launches massive drone attack
Russia launched a relentless overnight missile and drone barrage on Kyiv and the surrounding region, killing at least 16 people and wounding about 40, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday. The attack lasted for hours and primarily targeted the capital, but air raid warnings continued well past dawn.
The Ukrainian air force said the assault combined ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and fast-moving jet-powered drones, putting severe strain on the country's air defences. Explosions echoed across the city as residential buildings, a medical facility, and an educational institution were damaged in at least 12 locations across the Darnytskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts. In total, hits were recorded at 28 locations across the country, according to emergency services.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as a deliberate effort to maximise civilian damage. "It was a massive attack," he said on social media, adding that Russia had been preparing it for a long time, combining different types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones to strike civilian infrastructure.
Russia's Defence Ministry gave a different account, saying the strikes hit a Kyiv industrial site that manufactures components for Ukraine's Flamingo cruise missiles, as well as drone production and storage facilities, an ammunition depot and a logistics centre. The competing claims are part of the broader information war that has accompanied the more than four-year conflict.
The attack on Kyiv comes as Russia has intensified ballistic missile strikes on the capital, exploiting Ukraine's chronic shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defence interceptors—the only weapon in its arsenal capable of shooting down ballistic missiles. Mr. Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed for more Patriot interceptors, but international stockpiles remain limited amid other global conflicts and the long duration of the war.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has attempted to shift the war onto Russian soil through long-range drone strikes on oil facilities and other infrastructure. The Russian Defence Ministry reported on Thursday morning that its air defences shot down 726 Ukrainian drones overnight over several Russian regions, annexed Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas, in one of Ukraine's largest aerial attacks of the war. No immediate damage or casualties were reported.
The scale of the Russian assault on Kyiv has heightened concerns among Ukraine's neighbours. Poland activated its military aviation operations, ground-based air defence systems and radar reconnaissance, according to the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command. Polish and other NATO aircraft were deployed to monitor Polish airspace.
Romania reported that an unidentified drone crashed and caught fire in an uninhabited area near the border with Ukraine. Two Spanish F-18 jets, deployed on an air policing mission in Romania, were scrambled after 2 a.m. local time to monitor a group of air targets near the border. Moldova also said its airspace was breached by at least one unauthorised drone.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of "increasingly testing the resolve of NATO and its partners, violating the sovereignty of neighbouring states and deliberately expanding the risks posed by its war far beyond Ukraine."
The overnight strikes on Kyiv were among the most intense in recent weeks, with search and rescue operations continuing into the morning. Emergency crews pulled survivors from rubble as residents remained on edge. The attacks have become a grim routine, yet each escalation deepens the toll on civilians and raises the stakes for European security.
