Russian attack on Kyiv kills 13, injures scores
Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine's capital overnight into Thursday, killing at least 13 people and injuring scores as loud explosions rocked Kyiv for hours.
The barrage of ballistic and cruise missiles, along with drones, damaged buildings and civilian infrastructure across the city. Many residents took shelter in metro stations after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials issued the first warnings of the attack.
The attack killed 13 people in Kyiv and injured 86 others, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Damage was reported at 30 locations across the city, mainly affecting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said 20 residential buildings were damaged. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said it deployed nearly 500 personnel and 100 specialised vehicles, including a helicopter, to respond to the aftermath.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on Ukraine's allies to strengthen the country's air defences following what he described as a "night of horror" in Kyiv. Writing on X, he urged partners not to delay decisions on supplying air defence systems and missiles, warning that the death toll could rise as rescue operations continued.
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 the Russian strikes as retaliation for Ukraine's long-range attacks, saying Ukraine was exercising its right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, while Russia remained the aggressor.
Klitschko urged residents of the capital to remain in shelters because of the continuing "furious enemy attack".
He said a paramedic in an extremely critical condition was among those injured in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said a hotel and two five-storey residential buildings were damaged in the district.
In the Desnianskyi district, people were trapped inside a damaged nine-storey residential building and rescuers were heading to the scene, Klitschko said.
In the Holosiivskyi district, a fire broke out on the roof of a 16-storey building, according to the State Emergency Service.
In the Sviatoshynskyi district, fires broke out in two private homes, the State Emergency Service said. Debris trapped people in one of the houses, according to the mayor.
In the Darnytskyi district, six floors of a nine-storey residential building collapsed following a Russian strike, while another five-storey residential building was damaged, Klitschko said. The State Emergency Service added that a 16-storey building and several private homes were also damaged in the district.
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 added that authorities were also recording damage in the Obolonskyi and Podilskyi districts.
The head of the Kyiv Regional Administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, said damage was also reported in five districts of the surrounding Kyiv region. Three people were injured in Bucha district, he said.