Russia has launched a series of strikes on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, marking the largest drone assault of the war. The attack resulted in one fatality, left at least 23 individuals injured, and caused significant damage to buildings across the city.
The strike occurred just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump had a conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, according to officials.
Throughout the night, air raid sirens blared, and explosions echoed as Russia deployed what Ukraine’s air force reported as 539 drones and 11 missiles.
Families took refuge in underground metro stations as acrid smoke filled the city center.
In front of a high-rise apartment building that sustained damage from a drone, residents observed the aftermath as cleanup efforts commenced. Some were in tears while others watched in silence.
“I woke up to the sound of explosions; first, I heard the Shahed drones buzzing, and then the blasts began,” recounted Maria Hilchenko, a 40-year-old resident. “Then people outside started screaming. The explosions from the Shaheds just kept coming.”
A woman stands amidst the remains of a five-storey residential building in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky described the assault as “deliberately massive and cynical.” Following his earlier discussion with Mr. Trump, he mentioned that they agreed to collaborate on bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses amid growing concerns regarding ongoing U.S. military aid.
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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha indicated that a Chinese component was discovered in one of the Shahed drones that struck Kyiv, shortly after the Chinese consulate in Odesa experienced minor damage from a separate attack.
“What an irony,” Mr. Sybiha wrote on social media.
The debris of an apartment building in Kyiv.
Kyiv officials reported that the assault damaged approximately 40 apartment buildings, railway infrastructure, five schools, childcare facilities, cafés, and numerous vehicles across six of Kyiv’s ten districts.
Poland confirmed that the consular section of its embassy sustained damage in central Kyiv, although the staff remained unharmed.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on Telegram that 14 of the injured individuals were transported to hospitals.
Damage was observed on both sides of the Dnipro River, which traverses the capital, with falling drone debris igniting a medical facility in the Holosiivskyi district, he added.
Russian airstrikes against Kyiv have escalated in recent weeks, encompassing some of the most lethal attacks in the war on the city of three million inhabitants.
Russia bombarded the Ukrainian capital throughout the night.
President Trump stated that his conversation with Mr. Putin yielded no progress toward resolving the conflict, with Moscow asserting it would continue to address the “root causes” of the war.
Concerns arose in Kyiv following the U.S. decision to halt certain shipments of crucial weapons, with warnings that this could undermine Ukraine’s capability to defend itself against intensifying airstrikes and ground assaults.
Germany announced that it is negotiating the purchase of Patriot air defense systems to fill the void.
President Zelensky urged for increased pressure on Russia to alter its “dumb, destructive behavior.” He asserted, “For every such strike against people and human life, they must face corresponding sanctions and other repercussions affecting their economy, revenues, and infrastructure.”
According to Ukraine’s air force, 478 of the weapons launched by Russia overnight were neutralized.
Airstrikes were verified in eight locations, involving nine missiles and 63 drones, as stated by the air force.
Videos circulating on social media depicted individuals fleeing for safety, firefighters battling blazes in the dark, and the chaos of ruined structures.
People seek shelter in a bomb shelter during the Russian attacks.
In related news, Russian shelling resulted in five fatalities in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, according to officials.
Both sides have denied targeting civilians in the conflict that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Thousands of civilians, predominantly Ukrainians, have lost their lives in the ongoing struggle.
Additionally, many more military personnel are believed to have perished on the battlefield, but neither side provides casualty figures.
