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At least 27 people were killed and more than 90 injured after Russia launched one of its largest overnight drone and missile attacks on Kyiv, striking residential buildings and civilian infrastructure across the Ukrainian capital, officials said on Thursday.
Kyiv military administration chief Tymur Tkachenko said the death toll was expected to rise as rescue workers continued searching for survivors trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the assault as the “most massive enemy attack” on the capital.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 570 aerial weapons, including nearly 500 drones, 24 Iskander ballistic missiles, around 50 cruise missiles and four Zircon hypersonic missiles, which are primarily designed to target naval vessels.
One missile caused the partial collapse of six floors of a residential apartment building, while authorities said around 36 locations across Kyiv were damaged during the nearly 11-hour attack.
Reuters footage showed emergency crews searching through the debris of a collapsed nine-storey apartment block as rescue operations continued.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the bombardment as “a night of horror” for the capital.
The Kyiv Metro said more than 50,000 residents took shelter in underground stations after air raid sirens sounded across the city.
Zelenskyy urges more air defence support
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attacks also hit the Kharkiv, Kyiv, Sumy, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Cherkasy regions.
He said five people, including a child, were wounded in the Kharkiv region, while two others were injured in the Kyiv region.
Renewing calls for stronger international support, Zelenskyy urged allies to provide additional air defence systems, particularly Patriot missile batteries.
“We also very much count on a decision by the United States regarding licenses for Patriots and other forms of cooperation,” he said. “These are the kinds of steps that can stop this war and prevent attacks like this.”
The Ukrainian leader also vowed to respond to the latest Russian strikes.
Russia said the large-scale assault was carried out in retaliation for recent Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow.
Earlier this week, Ukraine launched drone strikes against the Russian capital, following a major attack on an oil refinery in the Moscow region, one of the largest drone operations against Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
While Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy facilities and civilian infrastructure throughout the war, Ukraine has increasingly used domestically produced long-range drones to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.
Heavy losses on both sides
A new report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated that Russian forces suffered around 1.4 million battlefield casualties, including 400,000 to 450,000 fatalities, between February 2022 and June 2026.
The report estimated Ukrainian military casualties at between 525,000 and 625,000, including 125,000 to 150,000 deaths over the same period.
According to the analysis, more than 2 million Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, wounded or gone missing since the war began.