Russia Launches Massive Drone and Missile Attack on Kyiv, Killing 17

KYIV — Russia launched a massive combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s capital overnight, killing at least 17 civilians and injuring dozens more in what Kyiv described as one of the most destructive single-night assaults on the city since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired nearly 500 drones and more than 70 missiles toward the country simultaneously, targeting the capital from multiple directions. While air defence systems intercepted most of the projectiles, at least 33 made impact, striking residential buildings across at least six districts, emergency officials said Thursday.

Death Toll Climbs as Rescuers Search Rubble

As of midday Thursday, 17 people were confirmed dead and at least 86 injured, including two children, according to Ukrainian emergency services. Among those trapped under rubble in the Darnytskyi district, to the southeast of the capital, were a 15-year-old girl and members of her family, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said. Rescuers worked through the morning to pull survivors from collapsed apartment blocks.

“The first to sixth floors of an apartment building had collapsed after a direct hit,” Klitschko wrote on Telegram. “It was a terrible night for Kyiv.” He declared Friday a day of mourning across the city.

More than 20 sites across the city sustained damage, including an ambulance station, a hotel on one of Kyiv’s central boulevards, a research institute, and businesses, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “Most of them ordinary residential buildings,” he noted in a post on social media. Ukraine’s air force said 110 emergency response teams were deployed to 59 locations across the city.

The strikes hit the capital as thousands of residents had taken shelter in metro stations following Zelensky’s warning hours earlier. “I am asking all our people to be extra careful, take care of yourselves and your children, and use shelters, this is very important,” the president said, speaking from Dublin during a visit to Ireland.

Russia Calls Strike Retaliation as Ukraine Hits Refineries

Russia’s defence ministry confirmed the assault, saying its military launched a “massive strike using high-precision, long-range weapons” in response to Ukrainian attacks on what it described as civilian infrastructure within Russian territory.

Ukrainian officials swiftly rejected the framing. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who was on a working visit to Japan, wrote on social media that it was “immoral” to equate Ukraine’s defensive actions with Russian aggression. “Russia has no right to make any strikes against Ukraine, while Ukraine has every right to respond, defend from aggressor, and strike any legitimate military targets in Russia,” he said. “Do not equate an aggressor and a country defending from aggression.”

Sybiha reiterated Kyiv’s urgent plea for Ukraine’s allies to supply more air defence systems, saying the capital had “suffered a night of horror.” Several Western governments issued statements condemning the strikes and reaffirming their support for Ukraine.

Ukraine Drone Campaign Tightens Pressure on Moscow

The latest assault on Kyiv appeared linked to an unprecedented Ukrainian drone campaign that has targeted Russian energy infrastructure over the past month. Overnight Thursday, Ukraine’s military said it struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in Kstovo, hundreds of miles east of Moscow. It also reported striking a railway bridge over the Donets River used for military logistics and a Russian command post in the Kharkiv region.

The campaign has strained Russia’s domestic fuel supply. Multiple Russian regions have introduced petrol rationing, and on Thursday the governor of Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region reported one person killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on industrial facilities there. In occupied Crimea, which Ukraine has increasingly targeted as a logistical hub for Russian forces, local authorities declared a state of emergency.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed its forces intercepted and destroyed 327 drones launched from Ukraine overnight, though Ukrainian officials have not confirmed that figure. Moscow said its strikes targeted military and energy infrastructure in Kyiv and the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions.

Poland Scrambles Jets as NATO Heightens Alert

Poland’s military said it scrambled aircraft in response to the large-scale Russian assault, reflecting heightened concern among NATO members bordering Ukraine. The Polish Armed Forces posted on social media that the movements were part of standard protocol but declined to provide details.

In late May, Russia warned foreign diplomats to leave Kyiv, saying it planned to intensify strikes on what it called “decision-making centres” in the Ukrainian capital. The advisory prompted several countries to review their embassy staffing levels in the city.

Ukrainian officials have made clear they intend to maintain pressure on Russian infrastructure and occupied territories, viewing the drone campaign as a strategy to erode Moscow’s ability to sustain operations and force a shift toward negotiations after more than four years of full-scale war. The Kremlin, for its part, shows no indication it is prepared to consider a ceasefire on terms Kyiv would accept.