Russian missile and drone barrage on Kyiv kills at least 15, injures more than 40, Zelenskyy says
A massive Russian missile and drone barrage struck Kyiv overnight Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 40, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday.
Emergency crews spent the night responding to sites hit across the capital as Russian forces launched a combination of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones in one of the largest attacks in recent months.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired an unspecified number of ballistic missiles, along with 46 cruise and air-to-ground missiles and 168 drones. The Kyiv region was the primary target, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian forces reported shooting down or otherwise neutralizing 41 cruise missiles and 145 drones. The military said strikes or debris were recorded at 28 locations. Officials did not provide a figure for how many ballistic missiles were intercepted.
Several areas of Kyiv sustained damage, with residential buildings, a children’s hospital and a school among the sites affected. Fires were also reported at warehouses and residential structures in the Sviatoshynskyi, Solomianskyi and Darnitskyi districts.
Other Russian strikes were reported in the southern Odesa region and northern Chernihiv region.
The latest barrage comes amid a broader increase in Russian missile attacks across Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that the country’s supply of interceptor missiles is critically low, particularly for defending against ballistic weapons.
Ukraine is developing its own ballistic missile defense system, known as FREYJA, but officials do not expect it to become operational until 2027.
Zelenskyy again called on Ukraine’s international partners to provide additional air-defense ammunition, particularly missiles for Patriot systems. He said Ukraine’s ability to defend against ballistic attacks remains heavily dependent on supplies from its allies.
The Ukrainian president argued that Russia would have little incentive to pursue peace while Ukraine lacks adequate defenses against ballistic missiles. He said development of the FREYJA system continues, but stressed that Patriot interceptors are urgently needed.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the night as one of the most severe attacks on Kyiv, saying ballistic missiles repeatedly struck the capital.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its overnight strikes targeted military-industrial facilities, a transportation and logistics hub and warehouses in Kyiv and the surrounding region.
The ministry also claimed Russian forces shot down at least 726 Ukrainian drones across 18 Russian regions, as well as over Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said at least 28 drones were intercepted over the Moscow region.
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