Russia launches massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv, killing four

Thousands of Kyiv residents ran for shelter as waves of ballistic and cruise missiles struck the capital for about seven hours, killing four people and leaving the city with damage in every district. The overnight assault also burned or hit dozens of apartment blocks, several schools, a water supply facility and a market, underscoring how deeply the war still reaches civilian life in Ukraine’s capital.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 600 drones and 90 missiles overnight, while another account put the attack at about 90 missiles and 60 drones. Ukrainian forces said 549 drones and 55 missiles were intercepted, but 16 missiles and 51 drones still struck 54 locations. That scale of fire, combined with repeated waves through the night, showed the strain on air defenses even as most incoming weapons were stopped.

Officials later said 83 people were injured across Ukraine, with at least four killed, including two in Kyiv and two in the wider Kyiv region. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital suffered damage in every district. The Foreign Ministry building in central Kyiv was lightly damaged, and the Cabinet of Ministers building was hit by blast waves, though no one was injured there.

The attack also reached deep into the city’s civic and cultural life. The National Art Museum of Ukraine, the Kyiv Opera Theater, Ukrainian House, Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium and the Chornobyl Museum were among the institutions damaged. United Nations offices in Kyiv were hit as well, and WHO offices were damaged without injuries to staff. UNICEF said the night was terrifying for children and families, a description that matched the scenes across shelter systems as residents spent hours underground waiting for the all-clear.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was the main target and described the assault as severe, while Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged allies to increase pressure on Moscow. Ukrainian officials said Russia also used the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile in the attack, with the strike hitting Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region. They said it was the first time the weapon had been fired at that region and only the third time it had been used against Ukrainian targets, a signal that Moscow is testing both Ukraine’s defenses and the endurance of a city trying to keep daily life intact under repeated attack.