Russia carried out a major overnight assault on Kyiv into Thursday, killing at least 13 people and wounding many more as powerful blasts echoed across the Ukrainian capital for hours.
The barrage, involving ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones, struck buildings and civilian infrastructure throughout the city. Many people headed to metro stations for shelter after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and local officials issued early warnings of the incoming attack.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strike left 13 people dead in the capital and another 86 injured.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said damage was reported at 30 sites across Kyiv, most of them residential buildings and civilian facilities.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that 20 residential buildings were damaged in different parts of the city.
Ukraine’s Emergency Service said it sent nearly 500 responders and 100 pieces of specialized equipment, including a helicopter, to manage rescue and recovery operations after the attack.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha appealed to Ukraine’s allies to bolster the country’s air defenses after what he called a “night of horror” in Kyiv, pressing partners to move faster on providing air defense systems and missiles.
In a post on X, Sybiha warned that the number of fatalities could increase as rescue crews continued searching through the aftermath.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, even as Ukraine’s own long-range drone campaign against Russian military sites and energy facilities has caused fuel shortages and disrupted supply lines inside Russia.
Sybiha rejected any attempts to justify Russian strikes as retaliation for Ukraine’s long-range attacks, saying Ukraine was exercising its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter while Russia remained the aggressor.
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Klitschko urged residents of the capital to remain in shelters due to the ongoing “furious enemy attack.”
He said a paramedic in extremely critical condition was among the injured in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Ukraine’s Emergency Service says a hotel and two five-story residential buildings were damaged in the area.
In the Desnianskyi district, people were trapped inside a damaged nine-story residential building and rescuers headed to the scene, Klitschko said.
In the Holosiivskyi district, a fire broke out on the roof of a 16-story building, according to the Emergency Service.
In the Sviatoshynskyi district, fire broke out in two private residencies, the Emergency Service said. Debris trapped people in one of them, according to the mayor.
In the Darnytskyi district, six levels of a nine-story building collapsed after a Russian strike and another five-story residential building was damaged, Klitschko said.
The Emergency Service said a 16-story building and private residencies were damaged in the area.
Tkachenko said the attack partially destroyed a residential building in the Desnianskyi district, sparked fires near residential buildings at two locations in the Pecherskyi district, and ignited a fire near an administrative building in the Solomianskyi district.
He said authorities were also recording damage in the Obolonskyi and Podilskyi districts.
The head of the Kyiv Regional Administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, said damage occurred in five regional districts.
Three people sustained injuries in Bucha district, he said.
