Deadly Russian Drone and Missile Strike Hits Kyiv: 15 Dead, 38 Injured

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Russian forces have launched a large-scale overnight drone and missile attack on Kyiv, killing at least 15 people and injuring 38 while damaging residential and other buildings across seven districts, Ukrainian officials say.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack, which also killed a child, showed the world Russia’s answer to diplomacy amid efforts by US President Donald Trump to end the war.

“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” Zelenskyy said on X on Thursday, calling for new sanctions on Russia. “It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war.”

The Kremlin said on Thursday that it was still interested in pursuing peace talks on Ukraine despite the deadly strikes.

When questioned about a potential contradiction between Moscow’s public aim to advance in peace talks and the attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed reporters that while both parties continued their assaults on each other, Russia remained committed to accomplishing its objectives through diplomacy.

One of the biggest attacks on Kyiv in months, mayor says

Kyiv city authorities reported at least 38 injuries as the search and rescue operations were under way, with emergency services putting out the fires and sifting through the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Explosions lit up the night sky in the capital during the air alert, which lasted for over nine hours, with clouds of smoke covering the sky as drones buzzed overhead.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko described it as one of the biggest attacks on the city in recent months.

According to Ukraine’s air force, they successfully intercepted 563 out of 598 drones and 26 out of 31 missiles fired by Russia in a nationwide offensive. Hits were noted at 13 different sites, with debris falling at 26 locations.

“Unfortunately, the Russians’ style is typical in their attacks,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, wrote on Telegram.

“Combined strikes, from different directions. And systematic, targeting ordinary residential buildings.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its attack hit military industrial facilities and military air bases. Moscow has regularly denied targeting civilians but dozens have died in recent months as it has stepped up strikes on densely populated areas far from the front lines of the war.

Ukrainian officials listed numerous buildings that had suffered damage, including several high-rise apartment blocks.

In Darnytskyi district, an eastern suburb, a five-storey building had been partly destroyed, Tkachenko said, and rescue teams were searching the rubble for trapped residents.

Emergency crews are tackling the aftermath of the attacks at more than 20 sites in the capital, he said.

Ukrainian attacks on Russia also continue

Separately, Moscow’s Defence Ministry said Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 102 Ukrainian drones overnight, which had targeted at least seven regions.

In the overnight attack, Ukraine’s forces attacked Afipsky and Kuybyshevskyi oil refineries, according to the Ukrainian drone forces commander.

Peskov said Ukraine’s strikes also included attacks on civilian infrastructure.

“You can see that strikes on Russian infrastructure, often on Russian civilian infrastructure, by the Kyiv regime are also continuing,” he said.

“The strikes are successful, the targets are being destroyed, and the special military operation continues. At the same time, Russia remains interested in continuing the negotiation process in order to achieve our goals through political and diplomatic means.”